Category: News

HBO Max has plans to welcome a massive lineup of A24 movies to its streaming platform this Fall. Why is that such a big deal? Because A24, especially in the last few years, has become a kind of cinematic haven for directors, storytellers, and actors hoping to make interesting, thought-provoking, highly-watchable movies that don’t take place in a comic book multiverse.

Now, not all of the studio’s standouts have made their way to HBO Max yet — here’s looking at you Minari, Zola, The Green Knight, and Men — but enough are calling the streamer home that we thought a binge-watching guide might be in order. We’ve sifted through the dozens of A24 films headed for HBO Max to single out the handful you should watch first.

RELATED: The Best Movies Streaming On HBO Max Right Now

Ex Machina (2014)

Run Time: 108 min | IMDb: 7.7/10

Alex Garland’s sci-fi thriller breathed new life into the tired A.I. trope when it landed in theaters years ago. The film focuses on a naïve young programmer (Domhnall Gleeson) who’s selected amongst a pool of applicants to evaluate a new A.I. lifeform. The poor kid is whisked away to a remote villa to spend time with the eerily-human-looking robot, Ava (Alicia Vikander), and her eccentric, often cruel creator Nathan (Oscar Isaac), a genius with an ego to match his talent. The film takes some twists you don’t expect, and Isaac gives cinema one of its greatest dance sequences, in case you needed more reason to watch.

Obvious Child

Run Time: 84 min | IMDb: 6.8/10

Jenny Slate remains an underrated stand-up comedian, but she proved herself a capable leading lady in Gillian Robespierre’s indie rom-com, Obvious Child. Slate plays Donna, a young hopeful trying to make it in the world of stand-up. She frequents a few undergrounds around New York City, honing her set while disappointing her successful academic mother by phoning it in at a used bookstore in Brooklyn for her regular 9-5. She has a brief and promising love affair with Max (Jake Lacy) before facing a dilemma: an unplanned pregnancy. There aren’t many films that can tackle the sensitive topic of abortion with dignity, grace, and a ton of poop jokes, so you’ll want to check this one out.

Under The Skin

Run Time: 108 min | IMDb: 6.3/10

Scarlett Johansson stars in this sci-fi thriller about an other-worldly woman with a dark agenda. The film sees Johansson using her sex appeal to lure unsuspecting men to their watery doom while beginning to contemplate her own existence with every new partner she seduces. It’s a subtle reverse of rape culture, with themes of race and immigration mixed in, but if all of that goes over your head, you’ll at least enjoy seeing Johansson off a bunch of frat bros who more than deserve it.

Amy

Run Time: 128 min | IMDb: 7.8/10

Amy Winehouse was one of the most talented singers of a generation and her rise to fame was as meteoric as her eventual fall. This doc, which explores the ins and outs of her family life, her relationships, and her music career, pulls archival footage taken by those closest to her, interviewing people that knew her best and chronicling her struggle with drugs and alcohol, a fight that she ultimately lost her life to.

Room

Run Time: 118 min | IMDb: 8.2/10

Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay star in this gripping drama about a mother and son held hostage for nearly a decade. The film, based on a work of fiction, pulls elements from real-life trauma cases as it follows a woman named Joy (Larson) and her son Jack (Tremblay) who exist in a singular room, cut off from the outside world. The two plot an escape, are eventually rescued, and must cope with the effects of their harrowing ordeal while adjusting to life outside of the room. Larson is deserving of every award she won for this thing, and her chemistry with Tremblay will have you grabbing for tissues throughout the film.

Enemy

Run Time: 91 min | IMDb: 6.9/10

Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this complete mindf*ck from director Denis Villeneuve about a man who goes in search of his doppelganger after spotting him in a movie and uncovering sinister secrets about himself in the process. Gyllenhaal plays both Adam, a quiet professor, and Anthony, an outspoken actor, who eventually meet and disrupt each other’s lives, but whether both men exist or whether they’re just figments of the same man’s consciousness is up to you to figure out.

A Most Violent Year

Run Time: 125 min | IMDb: 7/10

Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac play a husband/wife duo caught up in the criminal underground in this darkly-lit drama. Isaac plays Abel Morales, an immigrant and aspiring business owner who finds himself the target of ruthless competitors when he takes steps to secure a facility to transport oil throughout the boroughs. Chastain plays his wife Anna, a shrewd businesswoman in her own right who comes from a mobster family. The two fights against a determined D.A. and corrupt criminals in order to secure the money they need to purchase the land, but in doing so, they become the enemy they’ve been fighting against. It’s a heavy, morose kind of film, filled with violence and shady back-door dealings, but Chastain and Isaac bring a bit of brilliance to it all.

Slow West

Run Time: 84 min | IMDb: 6.9/10

Kodi Smit-McPhee plays a young Scottish man who travels from his home country to the dry, bleeding heart of the American West to find the woman he loves. Along the way, he meets a band of outlaws looking to collect the bounty on his intended’s head and a thuggish, slow-drawling Michael Fassbender who acts as his reluctant chaperone. It’s a fun, inventive take on the classic Western adventure, and it doesn’t hurt that the cinematography is gorgeous.

Life After Beth (2014)

Run Time: 89 min | IMDb: 5.6/10

Aubrey Plaza and Dane DeHaan star in this horror comedy about a guy named Zach mourning the loss of his girlfriend, only to discover she’s come back to life. Plaza stars as Beth, the dead girl revived, who begins exhibiting strange behavior, eventually going into full-blown zombie mode while her devoted boyfriend Zach (DeHaan) tries to manage her mood swings and her pesky craving for human flesh. John C. Reilly and Molly Shannon play Beth’s parents, who hilariously try to cover up their daughter’s current undead state, and though things go off the rails in the final third, watching Plaza play a moody, angst-ridden walking corpse is one hell of a good time, even if it does give you nightmares.

Mississippi Grind (2015)

Run Time: 108 min | IMDb: 6.4/10

Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn star in this road trip drama about a pair of down-on-their-luck gamblers making their way to New Orleans. Reynolds plays Curtis, the younger of the two who’s developed a system to manage his gambling habits. The key, Curtis says, is to not care about winning. Gerry (Mendelsohn) on the other hand is deep into his addiction, out of money, and unable to quit. The two team up, traveling down the Mississippi river, betting all they have on horse races and roulette tables before their wild ways catch up with them. It’s a film steeped in the South and there’s plenty to admire about the scenery, but it’s also a film that does a decent job of tackling addiction without making it feel trite and overdone.

On Wednesday, Joe Biden was officially declared COVID-free and allowed to exit the isolation he has been in since first testing positive for the virus last week. While the president has noted from the very beginning of his illness that his symptoms were mild due to being double-vaxxed and double-boosted, that wasn’t good enough for Sean Hannity.

On Wednesday night, rather than just report that the president is now COVID-free and move on, the Fox News host and longtime pal of Donald Trump wanted to make it clear to his viewers that the reason Trump ended up hospitalized during his bout with COVID and Biden did not had everything to do with the strength of the virus and nothing to with the vigor of the infected man.

Now, it didn’t help matters that Biden did seem to maybe be getting a kinda sorta little dig in at Trump when he reminded Americans:

“When my predecessor got COVID, he had to get helicoptered to Walter Reed Medical Center; he was severely ill. Thankfully, he recovered. When I got COVID, I worked from upstairs of the White House and the offices upstairs and for that five-day period.”

For his part, as Mediaite reported, Hannity was clearly pissed that Biden had dared to invoke (though Hannity definitely said “evoke”) Trump’s name when sharing his happy health report:

“Now what Joe failed to mention is that the current variant, which is BA.5—the dominant variant of the omicron—is much, much weaker than the original strain that infected then-President Trump.”

But Hannity wasn’t content to let his diatribe just end there. He wanted to make sure to get a few extra digs in and help his pal out in what seems to be a never-ending battle between two old men who each want to make fun of the other one for being old. Sort of like Grumpy Old Men, but if Walter Matthau’s character was a sociopath intent on starting a nuclear war:

“By the way, not that I recall, I never saw Donald Trump trip, not once, not twice, but three times climbing up the stairs to Air Force One and then having a spokesperson claim it was very windy.”

Nice one, Sean!

Though there was that umbrella incident…

And, ya know, that r-a-m-p…

Not to mention the Capitol insurrection. But ok, fine: Trump’s COVID could totally beat up Biden’s variant.

(Via Mediaite)

A year ago this week, Bob Odenkirk collapsed on the set of Better Call Saul. It was later revealed that the Emmy-nominated actor had suffered a “small heart attack” (while filming a “heart-stopper” of an episode), which he survived thanks to a “crazy coincidence” — and a nearby defibrillator. On the anniversary of his health scare, Odenkirk took to Twitter to thank his fans for the support and well wishes he’s received.

“A Thank You to you, whoever you are. A year ago today I briefly flirted with ‘quietus’ and this elicited a wave of goodwill and warmth towards me. I will forever feel unworthy of it. I will also always be appreciative and look to pass it on. Thank you. No reply necessary,” Odenkirk tweeted.

“It took three attempts to get me to [an effective heart] rhythm, which is actually a lot,” Odenkirk said during a March episode of The Howard Stern Show. “When the defibrillator doesn’t work once, that’s not good. When it doesn’t work the second time, it’s kind of like forget it. But then they jacked me up to a third time and got me a rhythm.” He also acknowledged the efforts of his co-stars Rhea Seehorn (Kim) and Patrick Fabian (Howard), “who rushed right to my side. Rhea held my head and Patrick held my hand… I turned grey right away and stopped breathing, and they were just yelling and yelling.”

The third to last episode of Better Call Saul airs next Monday with a title that should make Breaking Bad fans very excited.

(Via Twitter/Bob Odenkirk)

Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals agreed to a contract extension that will pay the team’s franchise quarterback up to $230.5 million over the life of the deal. While the amount of money headed Murray’s way turned heads, one particular clause in the contract attracted a whole lot of attention earlier this week.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network brought word that Murray is required to do four hours of what is defined as “independent study” every week during the season, save for the team’s bye. It led to questions about why the Cardinals felt the need to include that, with questions popping up about Murray’s work ethic and desire to study film away from the team.

Unsurprisingly, this did not sit especially well with Murray, who decided to meet with the media on Thursday afternoon to respond to some of the “disrespectful” things that have been said about himself and the clause.

“To think that I can accomplish everything that I’ve accomplished in my career and not be a student of the game and not have that passion, not take this serious, it’s disrespectful and it’s almost a joke,” Murray said.

While Murray said he’s “flattered” that a player of his size can go out and do what he’s done in his career at his size, he stressed that he believes it’s disrespectful to other players to imply that because the league is just too difficult. Murray then made it a point to list off the things he has achieved in his career dating back to his high school days.

“I’m not 6’7, 230, I don’t throw the ball 85 yards,” Murray said. “I’m already behind the 8 ball and I can’t afford to take any shortcuts, no pun intended. Those things, you can’t accomplish if you don’t take the game serious, if you don’t prepare the right way. Like I said, it’s laughable.”

Murray then mentioned that there are different ways to watch film and that he enjoys doing it with other members of the Cardinals’ QB room.

“I refuse to let my work ethic, my preparation be in question,” Murray said. “I’ve put in incomprehensible amounts of time and blood, sweat, tears, and work into what I do, whether it’s football or baseball. People can’t even comprehend the amount of time that it takes to do two sports at a high level in college, let alone be the first person to do it, ever, at my size? Like I said, it’s funny, but to those of you out there that believe I’d be standing there today, in front of y’all, without having a work ethic and without preparing, I’m honored that you think that, but it doesn’t exist. It’s not possible.”

Hilaria Baldwin has a very (very) long message for the haters. On Wednesday, Hilaria posted a black and white photo of herself and her husband, actor Alec Baldwin, on Instagram and used the caption feature to share what would probably be a four-page essay. The puzzling post is a tribute to her husband as well as a message to . . . the entertainment industry, which, according to Hilaria, are haters seeking to try to destroy her husband. I don’t know!

Hilaria and Alec Baldwin have been married since 2012. The couple has six children together with a seventh child along the way. In October 2021, Alec Baldwin fired a prop weapon in an incident that resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins while on the set of the film, Rust.

“To enter your world and become your person has been both a joy and an eye opening experience,” Hilaria wrote at the beginning of the post. “How many wonderful moments, meeting incredible people, doing amazing experiences, and building a family. I am forever grateful. Every day.” The tribute goes on for many more paragraphs. Just when you think it’s over, there are more paragraphs.

“The darker part is seeing behind the curtain at how some of this ‘business’ can function and the blows and sacrifices that someone in the public eye takes for speaking up for what they believe and for helping others,” she wrote. “Enemies of these missions seek to destroy you, in order to delegitimize your voice and purpose. This is not a new tactic…it’s as old as history…yet, how easy it is now more than ever to slander people and cherry pick and piece together strands taken out of context, ‘opinions’, or complete fabrications. And how some people believe it or stay silent out of fear. Alec, how many times we look at each other and say: deep breath, in this together, keep on for the good of what we believe. Somos un buen equipo.”

Hilaria added that she has experienced “dehumanization” as well, which might be referring to 2020 when she was accused of pretending to be Spanish. “Unfortunately, having experienced the dehumanization myself, (another old tactic to go after the spouse of your enemy), leads us to the moments when we think: how much more can one body and one mind take before we crumple beneath the psychological torture?” she wrote in the Instagram caption, just when you’d think she should have stopped already.

Whitney launched their new era in June by announcing the album Spark and sharing the lead single “Real Love,” which showed the duo heading in a more pop-inspired direction than their previous output. Now, they offer two new songs today, “Twirl” and “Blue,” that sees Julien Ehlrich and Max Kakacek continuing to explore different styles; “Twirl” is a meditative and lush tune while “Blue” is a more upbeat bit of soulful indie-pop.

The duo says of “Twirl,” “With ‘Twirl,’ John Congleton and Brad Cook really created the framework for us to explore a new palette. What started as a simple love song grew into a wider take on human connection that we feel lucky to have made.” They added of “Blue,” “We wrote ‘Blue’ at what I would now call ‘peak isolation’ in the beginning of 2021. In hindsight it’s clear that we were attempting to manifest a different set of circumstances through the fantasy of love.”

When Whitney initially announced the album, they also unveiled a set of tour dates, with a North American run spanning from late September to late October.

Check out the videos for “Twirl” and “Blue” above.

Spark is out 9/16 via Secretly Canadian. Pre-order it here.

Not content with slamming Republicans on Twitter for killing the Honoring Our PACT Act, Jon Stewart arrived outside the U.S. Capitol building on Thursday, and he proceeded to rage against the GOP. During the nearly ten minute long press conference, Stewart went to bat for veterans who have been denied necessary healthcare after being exposed to toxic burn pits. While the PACT act initially had bipartisan support, it was sunk at the last minute by outgoing Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, who Stewart called a “coward” during his fiery speech.

“How are these people human?” Stewart asked the crowd who gathered outside to hear him speak. “Where’s any sense of decency, from any of them?”

While there’s speculation that the Republicans blocked the bill in retaliation for Joe Manchin backing President Biden’s Build Back Better plan to the chagrin of Mitch McConnell, Stewart doesn’t care about senators engaged in “f*ckery” because time isn’t something that veterans have. Via The Daily Beast:

“Senate time is ridiculous. These motherf*ckers live to 200. They’re tortoises. They live forever and they never lose their jobs and they never lose their benefits and they never lose all those things,” Stewart said.

Veterans, Stewart continued, don’t have time. “Their time is precious…. Every minute of delay is a minute that a veteran who fought for this country and their families and their caregivers suffer and die,” he said.

“Tell their cancer to take a recess,” he said, adding one more line before he walked away from the cameras: “If this is America First, America is f*cked.”

You can watch Stewart’s full remarks below, and as you can tell, C-SPAN isn’t kidding about the language warning:

(Via The Daily Beast)

Gorillaz recently moved from their virtual home of Kong Studios in West London, to a new (also virtual) home in Silverlake, CA. The virtual band, orchestrated by Damon Albarn, had previously stated that the move to the Los Angeles neighborhood was in order to galvanize fans by having them join “The Last Cult,” where band member Murdoc is the self-appointed Great Leader, and together unlock “the one truth to fix the world.” Thoroughly confused? It’s a virtual band for crying out loud, it’s not supposed to make too much sense! Alas, some insight into this mission has been unlocked with the new “Cracker Island” video, featuring Thundercat and created in conjunction with Nexus Studios.

In a Who Framed Roger Rabbit?-like combination of live-action and animation, Gorillaz (Murdoc, Noodle, Russel, and 2D) are in an LA emergency room surrounded by cops, when supernatural occurrences start happening around them. None are trippier than the half-animated Thundercat, playing a holographic bass, with his colorful dreadlocks waving in sparkles.

“Think of it as the final scene in the movie, the bit after the grand finale when the hero (me) is about to stride into the sunset, credits rolling,” 2-D said in a statement. “That’s right, we’re starting at the end. Why? COS I WORK IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS.”

Watch the video for “Cracker Island” above.

Gorillaz is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The NBA has not had a team in Seattle since 2008. At the conclusion of the 2007-08 campaign, the Seattle SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City in a highly-criticized move, and ever since, there’s been a groundswell of support for the NBA to make its return to the city.

Seattle has a very proud basketball culture even beyond the Sonics, as the Storm are one of the best organizations in the WNBA and the city has produced a number of prominent hoopers. This includes Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft who will start his career as a member of the Orlando Magic.

Banchero appeared on the latest episode of Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson’s “All The Smoke” podcast. At the 9:37 mark of the below video, Barnes asked Bancheo about whether he views it as important that the NBA makes its return to Seattle. Unsurprisingly, Banchero has some pretty strong thoughts on the matter.

“I think it needs to happen, I think it should be mandatory,” Banchero said. “Not just because I’m biased, but because it’d be a great look on the NBA. It’s a great city, the fans there are crazy. If you get a team in Seattle, they’ll automatically be a top … not the top, but a top fanbase. Those games would be sold out right away.”

Banchero mentioned that he was young when the Sonics moved, but recalled watching players like Chris Wilcox, Earl Watson, and Kevin Durant play in Seattle while he was growing up, in large part because of his mother’s career as both a basketball player and coach at Holy Names Academy.

Last month, Zambian-Australian rapper Sampa The Great announced her upcoming sophomore album, As Above, So Below after releasing two singles, “Lane” and “Never Forget” featuring Denzel Curry. Today, she has released the album’s third single, the bass-heavy “Bona.” According to its press release, it’s influenced by the music Sampa heard as a child in Botswana, borrowing the genres that originated in neighboring South Africa such as kwaito and amapiano.

In a statement, Sampa described the meaning of “Bona,” saying, “I haven’t yet shown the influence Botswana has had on me musically; this is the style, language, and swag of Botswana youth. ‘Bona’ is a chance for me to shine light on other elements of music that I was influenced by when growing up, outside of Zambian music. I want to bring a Southern African anthem to the mix and DJ desks, and show that there’s an array of music coming out of Africa, on top of Afrobeats.”

In a roundabout way, the track represents Sampa joining a growing trend of artists reclaiming dance music, especially through genres originated by Black artists, such as house and techno. In her case, though, she’s an African artist introducing African genres to wider audiences, showing that the continent has more to offer outside of Nigerian Afrobeats.

Listen to “Bona” by Sampa The Great above.

As Above, So Below is due on 9/9 on Vista Loma. Pre-order it here.