Category: News

Alien invasions are so hot right now. Do you want to know where you’ll find the best bang for your buck among the streaming services? The competition grows eerie this week with a fictional account of humans and aliens going toe-to-toe in an Amazon Prime movie and a (supposedly) reality-based Discovery+ series about one of the greatest extraterrestrial-related mysteries of our time. For that reason (and because you want to ditch a Fourth of July BBQ to fight aliens, like Will Smith’s Independence Day character) we’re gonna go ahead and put Amazon in first place this week for not only staying on-point, subject wise, but also giving us a summer blockbuster experience at home. Discovery+ nabs the runner-up spot because not only are we getting more alien talk, but Martha Freaking Stewart stars in a new series where she gets her hands super grubby (because she knows what the people want).

However, don’t count out the other streaming services mentioned below. Disney+ is still going strong with Loki installments that will charm your Variant pants off. Netflix has several new options to binge, including a series where Channing Tatum portrays a potty-mouthed and ripped George Washington, and do not sleep on HBO Max, Hulu, Peacock, and Apple TV’s newest offerings. Without further delay, here’s everything that you should consider putting in your queues this weekend (and beyond).

Amazon Prime

The Tomorrow War (Amazon Prime film) — A summer blockbuster movie lands in your living room at no extra cost to Amazon Prime subscribers, so how lucky are you feeling right about now? The film stars Chris Pratt (alongside J.K. Simmons, Yvonne Strahovski, Betty Gilpin, Sam Richardson, and more) in a world where time travelers from 2051 arrive to warn mankind that a global war against an alien species is coming. The only way possible for this to turn out well for humans is if soldiers and civilians join the future fight by time traveling, and this film comes from the mind of director Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie), so we’re in good hands all around. Go get your microwave popcorn and enjoy the explosive action goodness.

Bosch: Season 7 (Amazon Prime series) — Everyone’s favorite loose-cannon detective (portrayed by Titus Welliver) who doesn’t shy away from extralegal tactics is back for one final lap, and hopefully, he’ll be weirdly eating pancakes again at some point before this show ends. Please let us see more crooked law enforcement members get their comeuppance, and maybe some mercenaries and drug rings here and there, and Bosch going further than he safely should to achieve justice in every instance. Oh, and after this season ends, there will (at some point) be a spinoff that will pretty much be more Bosch on the way, as Bosch moves into a new phase of his career. Strange, right?

Discovery+

Martha Gets Down and Dirty: Season 1 (Discovery+ series) — The frequent onscreen and business partner of Snoop Dogg goes solo while traveling home to her 150-acre farm where, as the title suggests, she gets her hands seriously dirty. Martha Stewart might be 79 years young and a total perfectionist, but she’s entirely engaged in prepping her farm for summertime, and that means some serious digging in the dirt alongside her gardener, Ryan McCallister. That’s only part of the dirty work on this show, and Stewart duly promised, “I’m going to take you behind-the-scenes as I get my hands dirty around my property, as well as help my celebrity friends and surprise some unsuspecting callers.” So… Snoop? C’mon, Martha.

Roswell: The Final Verdict (Discovery+ limited series) — The recently declassified UFO reports from the Pentagon didn’t exactly satisfy curious minds, so there’s no time like the present for revisiting the 1937 Roswell, New Mexico incident, in which a rancher claims to have witnessed strange debris gathering, which led to decades of denials by the U.S. government and endless conspiracy theories. This series will revisit eyewitness accounts in an attempt to uncover the whole truth.

Relentless (Discovery+ series) — This Blumhouse Television/Stick Figure Entertainment series releases three episodes of this journey by an obsessive filmmaker (Christina Fontana) to uncover what really happened to a missing young woman (Christina Whittaker), a 21-year-old who left a 6-month-old child behind in Missouri. Less than a year later, Fontana touched base with the family and soon found herself staring down a trail of conspiracies and betrayal while becoming part of the story. Fontana soon realized how accounts lacked consistency across the board during interviews, and it’s fair to say that the filmmaker risked her own career and safety while telling this story.

Disney+

Loki: Episode 4 (Disney+ series, releasing in the wee hours of Wednesday morning) — Tom Hiddleston has an absolute blast playing the mercurial trickster of the MCU, and we shall reap the benefits while he helps (or hinders) the Time Variance Authority during the process of cleaning up the timeline. This week, the show will follow up on Sophia Di Martino’s “Variant” character teaming up with Loki, after the series inserted a significant detail into canon while appearing to also confirm a theory about the TVA.

The Mysterious Benedict Society: Season 1 Premiere (Disney+ series) — Gather round for this adaptation of Trenton Lee Stewart’s bestselling book series about a group of orphans who are recruited by Mr. Benedict, who is very peculiar, to save the world from “The Emergency.” Together, the orphans must infiltrate an underworld society to uncover the truth about why the globe’s gone so wrong, and except the unexpected when it comes to revelations about the source of this crisis. Tony Hale stars, along with Kristen Schaal and Ryan Hurst (RIP, Opie from Sons of Anarchy).

Netflix

America: The Motion Picture (Netflix film) — Channing Tatum voices a very profane (and buff) George Washington in this series that’s directed by Archer‘s Matt Thompson and produced by The Mitchells vs. the Machines‘ Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Washington declares that he wants to “start a f*cking revolution,” and he’s accompanied by a beer-guzzling Sam Adams, an angry Geronimo, Paul Revere, and Thomas Edison as they decide to take on Benedict Arnold and King James. In the synopsis, Netflix promises, “[T]hese are not your father’s Founding… uh, Fathers.”

Fear Street Part 1: 1994 (Netflix film) — Author RL Stine’s works find new terrifying life in this first trilogy installment about a group of teenagers who inadvertently stumble upon a source of ancient evil. Before long, they’re wrapped up in a 300-year-old nightmare that’s messed with their Shadyside community, and expect more where this came from when Fear Street Part 2: 1978 and Fear Street Part 3: 1666 eventually arrive.

We The People (Netflix series) — This show aims to educate young Americans about basic U.S. civics lessons, but the method is anything but basic and involves combining groundbreaking animation and original music. Expect tunes from H.E.R., Janelle Monáe, Brandi Carlile, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Adam Lambert, Cordae, Bebe Rexha, KYLE, and Andra Day. Poet Amanda Gorman will also be on hand to inspire the masses like she did at the recent inauguration.

Somos. (Netflix series) — This series recreates stories that are inspired by the work of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ginger Thompson. She dug into a small down called Allende during a period that’s rocked by a massacre, which was sparked by a drug war and a DEA operation that did not go as planned.

Prime Time (Netflix film) — The time is 1999, and the occasion is New Year’s Eve. A 20-year-old man takes hostages after entering a TV studio. The man doesn’t know his plan, nor does anyone else, although he has a message that’s interrupted by police, and as he waits it out, he apparently bonds with his hostages. Hmm.

Audible (Netflix film) — This coming-of-age documentary follows a group of Deaf high school students as they confront the impending reality of graduation and heading into the real world. A popular athlete, Amaree, tears up the football field following a tragic loss, and overall, this group of teens seek to conquer adversity while looking toward the future and intending to prove their worth to the world.

Young Royals (Netflix series) — A teenage prince heads to a ritzy boarding school, where he intends upon exploring his identity and figuring out what he’d really like to do in the future. His dreams turn to freedom and unconditional live and away from royal duty, but those dreams are thwarted when he finds himself next in line to become king. Will he choose love… or his apparently predestined life?

HBO Max

No Sudden Move (Warner Bros. film on HBO Max) — Right at home in the comfort of your own living room, you can enjoy the newest Steven Soderbergh-directed picture that’s set in 1954 Detroit. The cast includes half of Hollywood, it seems, including Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, David Harbour, Jon Hamm, Amy Seimetz, Kieran Culkin, Ray Liotta, and Brendan Fraser. The name of the game is a botched plan by a gathering of small-potatoes criminals, who must hunt down who hired them and find out what’s actually going on in the rapidly morphing city.

Tom and Jerry in New York: Season 1 (Warner Bros. Animation series on HBO Max) — This spinoff to the recent Tom and Jerry movie (starring Chloe Moretz) strips things down to the classic duo’s adventures while cat and mouse continue to cause mayhem in the Big Apple and, more specifically, the Royal Gate Hotel. Naturally, chaos follows everywhere that the iconic pair travels, surrender to the madness.

I’ll Be Gone In The Dark: Special Episode (HBO series on HBO Max) — The one-year anniversary of Joseph James DeAngelo’s guilty plea as the Golden State Killer fast approaches. So, HBO’s revisiting the dogged investigating efforts of true-crime blogger Michelle McNamara after the revolutionary docuseries of 2020. Original series director Liz Garbus will be back to produce alongside Patton Oswalt (McNamara’s husband at the time of her death) and true-crime writers Paul Haynes and Billy Jensen (who helped piece together McNamara’s research into the book) for a special episode, which contains revelations about another case that informed McNamara’s true-crime obsession.

Betty: (HBO series on HBO Max) — The skateboarders are back. It’s what we really need to heal our pandemic-addled minds, and somehow, director Crystal Moselle managed to gather the Skate Kitchen crew back up for a second season and film on the streets of New York City. The main players are all back — Rachelle Vinberg as Camille, Ajani Russell as Indigo, Dede Lovelace as Janay, Moonbear as Honeybear, and Nina Moran as Kirt — and they’re still making the act of soaring through the streets look like the coolest thing on Earth.

Hulu

Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Hulu film) — Questlove’s stepping into the director’s seat for the first time for this cinematic historical record that celebrates Black history over the course of six weeks. The culmination, of course, turns out to be the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, and this film brings you never-before-seen footage of performances from Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, B.B. King, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and many more.

False Positive (Hulu film) — Hide your uteruses! Pierce Brosnan is the worst fertility doctor. As if being a woman wasn’t hard enough, Hulu (through this A24 film) will give us even more fuel to dread going to a gynecologist, or baby doctor, or fertility whiz, or whatever term you want to use. Ilana Glazer stars as one half of a couple, alongside Justin Theroux, who seeks to become pregnant, and things aren’t exactly going well with the natural route, so they find themselves seeking professional help. And from there, things get all Rosemary’s Baby in a very 2021 way, and in an entertaining way, too. From there, the this trailer shows how the gaslighting really kicks in, and could it be… Satan?

Peacock

The Boss Baby: Family Business (Peacock film) — Alec Baldwin’s back as the Boss Baby, who is now (apparently?) all grown up. He’s even a hedge fund CEO, but another boss baby, who’s even more of a whippersnapper, might bring the first boss baby back together with his older brother (James Marsden), and then they’ll all attempt a family business. The best news, perhaps, is that Amy Sedaris is voicing a new infant on the block, and there are dark secrets and mysterious ways afoot at BabyCorp. In the end, expect some lessons on the meaning of family because, yup, we’re in family territory.

Apple TV+

Central Park: Season 2 (Apple TV+ series) — Get ready for more animated musical madness that takes on themes of gentrification and capitalism with such an ease that feels, well, natural. Voice performances from Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, Stanley Tucci, and Daveed Diggs will all entertain with whimsy, and oh, do not forget the presence of Tituss Burgess, ever. The series is co-created by Loren Bouchard of Bob’s Burgers fame, and it’s a heartwarming and unique comedy series following a cast of evolving characters.

Mythic Quest: Season 2 season finale (Apple TV+ series) — Rob McElhenney’s workplace comedy made it back to the office after you-know-what forced the work-at-home situation. They built upon Raven’s Banquet success with a new expansion, but nothing’s going smoothly. Snoop Dogg stopped by this season to spread his feel-good… vibes. And now, it’s time to end this sophomore chapter with an eye toward the future.

Snot has spent most of the year sharing videos from his late-2020 album, Beautiful Havoc. The visuals highlighted the young act’s work on the project as he continued to elevate his game in the months that followed. Now, the Florida native returns with his brand new single, “Red.” The track is a chilled effort that captures Snot’s carefree spirit as he moves through life on the new release. From his cars to the ladies, the rapper seems to take everything that comes his way in stride while not letting it affect him too much.

In addition to the new “Red” single, you could revisit Beautiful Havoc or give it a first listen if you haven’t pressed play yet. A growing portfolio of visuals for the project also makes it more appealing to dive into. There’s the contemplative video for “Life” and a frantic effort for “Sangria” with fellow Florida native Denzel Curry. You can also indulge in a high-speed effort with the “Like Me” visual before pressing play on the haunting video for Snot and Flo Milli’s “Mean” collaboration. All in all, there’s plenty to enjoy when it comes to the rising Florida act.

You can press play on the video above to hear “Red.”

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

In case you haven’t noticed yet, Logic has returned to the hip-hop world from somewhat of a retirement. Last summer, he called it quits from rap world with the release of his sixth album, No Pressure. While he did step away from the game for some time, it wasn’t long enough to be deemed a short retirement as new music slowly arrived from his camp. He confirmed his official return last week and with it came the release of The YS Collection Vol. 1, a project composed of songs from his Young Sinatra days. Now, the Maryland rapper is back with brand new music.

Logic arrives with “Vaccine,” his first new song since returning from retirement. The track uses hard-hitting production to surround the rapper’s nonchalance as he takes his first few steps back into the game. “Came back with a team / Like rap ain’t a thing I’m a do anything,” he says on the song. “I’ma rap, I’ma sing / Yeah I’m back as the king.” Elsewhere he seemingly teases the upcoming release of Bobby Tarantino 3, the third installment in the mixtape series he launched back in 2016. “Ready to f*ck up the game,” he raps. “BT3 now we at it again, mane.”

In addition to the possible arrival of Bobby Tarantino 3, Logic has also teased a joint project with Madlib over the past couple of months. The pair has released singles that include “Raddest Dad” and “Mafia Music.”

You can press play on Logic’s “Vaccine” in the video above.

Imagine Dragons have announced their fifth album, Mercury — Act 1 will be coming this September. They’re previewing the new collection of songs tonight with a single called “Wrecked,” which starts off a bit more acoustic than some of what we’ve heard from them in the past. Don’t worry though, it builds to a towering, dark chorus just in time, a reflection of how relationship endings and grief can be swift and overwhelming. The song was written by frontman Dan Reynolds after losing his his sister-in-law, Alisha Durtschi Reynolds.

“She was the brightest light,” Reynolds said. “A beacon of joy and strength for everyone she met. Her sudden passing has shaken me in ways that I still am unable to express. I was with her and my brother when she passed, and it was the first time in my life that I had witnessed death in this way. It sealed into my mind the fragility of life and finality of this all. I’ve watched my brother face something that no one should have to. But I’ve also seen his faith bring him hope in a future with her. I can only hope for the same,” Reynolds says. “This song was my way of dealing with it all, as music has always been my refuge. No longer being a man of fervent faith, I can only hope that she hears it somewhere in a place where she is healed and no longer in pain. This song is my wish for an eternity with those that I love.”

This new single follows up a couple other new songs from the band, “Follow You” and “Cutthroat.” Check out the moving new song above and look out for Mercury — Act 1 out on KIDinaKORNER/Interscope on September 3.

Earlier this year, Russ promised fans that he would drop a new song on a weekly basis for the foreseeable future. It’s an act that the singer did earlier in his career to bring attention and familiarity to his name, and with all the success he’s accumulated up until today, it’s clear that it worked for him. With that being said, it’s no surprise that the Atlanta native went back to it after the strong 2020 he had. His latest release is “On The Way,” a timid, brief track that finds him emphasizing his tunnel vision approach towards life to his family, friends, and women he frequents himself with.

While 2021 might the year of singles for Russ, 2020 was focused on projects. He kicked things off with his third album, Shake The Snow Globe, a 14-track effort that saw contributions from Benny The Butcher, Rick Ross, Bia, and more. He later served up a deluxe reissue for the project with eight new songs and help from Ty Dolla Sign and Westside Boogie. To close off the year, he returned with Chomp, a 6-track EP that saw him stand beside some of the best lyrical talents the music industry has to offer. This includes Ab-Soul, Benny The Butcher, Kxng Crooked, and more.

On a more recent note, Russ has dropped numerous singles that include “Satisfy,” “Lucky,” “Private,” “Status,” and “Small Talk.”

You can listen to the new song in the video above.

Ty Dolla Sign is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Last year proved to be a big year for Blxst and Bino Rideaux. The West Coast acts’ stocks saw a nice boost after they dropped their respective projects, No Love Lost and Outside. Both efforts arrived after they came together for their Sixtape EP in 2019. Now, Blxst and Bino are preparing to release a sequel, but before doing so, they return with a video for the upcoming project’s lead single, “Movie.” The visual finds the rappers employing themselves at a dysfunctional car wash headed by an equally dysfunctional manager. After pushing through the chaos, Blxst and Bino take over the property to throw a feel-good party in the warm West Coast sun.

The new video comes with news that the duo’s upcoming project, Sixtape 2 will arrive on July 16. The effort will hopefully continue the streak both rappers have been on while adding to strong collaborations they’ve already presented in their respective catalogs. Their recent songs together include “Wrong Or Right (Remix)” from Blxst’s No Love Lost and “Brand New” from Bino’s Outside.

Outside of their collaborations, the newly-crowned XXL Freshman Blxst announced his No Love Lost tour and recently teamed up with YG and Mozzy for their “Perfect Timing” video while Bino dropped his first solo single of the year last month with “Got To Know It.”

You can check out the video to Blxst and Bino’s “Movie” above.

Sixtape 2 is out 7/16 via Red Bull Records.

Close associates of Donald Trump tried to make a splash with a new social media platform that Trump may or may not join, but the big news of the day was that the Trump Organization was officially charged for a 15-year tax avoidance scheme that saw a top executive, Alan Weisselberg, saddled with a number of crimes.

The charges have been a long time coming, as those around Trump and the company that shares his name have been part of a years-long investigation into criminal wrongdoing. Thursday’s perp walk flew in the face of what Trump and his children have been saying for weeks now very publicly, that they are “clean” and totally free of any wrongdoing. And in the wake of those charges, both Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump appeared on cable news to talk about how their family is being persecuted in various ways.

Executives appearing on inflammatory cable news segments on the day their company saw indictments handed down is perhaps not the wisest of decisions, legally speaking. But there were several rambling segments that aired on Thursday night. Don Jr., for example, compared the charges to Vladimir Putin poisoning and throwing a political rival in jail.

Eric Trump, meanwhile, last seen using random internet comments to make his case for innocence, appeared on Newsmax to say that his family lives “amazingly clean lives” and tried to make this, once again, about Hunter Biden.

Eric also appeared on Fox News to react to the news that the Trump organization was officially charged with crimes, using much of the same language he used on Newsmax.

Many were surprised that the pair were commenting on an active investigation, which is pretty out of the ordinary for basically any other company under indictment.

The news was handled differently on the different cable networks, to say the least.

Depending on who you believe, Thursday’s news is just part of an all-encompassing “witch hunt” against Trump and his family that’s completely unfounded, or just the start of what could be a long list of charges against the now-former president’s business dealings and the family entangled in them all. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what’s closer to reality.

Even before the announcement of a new project from Big Red Machine — Aaron Dessner and Bon Iver’s collaborative labor of love — Swifties have been investigating the project for Taylor features. Turns out fans were right on the money, as Taylor is a collaborator on not one but two songs on the album, “Renegade” and “Birch.” Tonight one of those songs, “Renegade,” is available for fans to hear, above, and Dessner shared the story behind the track as well.

“While we were making folklore and evermore last year, Taylor and I sometimes talked about experimenting and writing songs together some day for Big Red Machine,” Dessner explained. “Making music with your friends just to make it — that’s how Big Red Machine started and has grown — and that’s how Renegade came about too. This song was something we wrote after we finished evermore and it dawned on us that this was a BRM song. Taylor’s words hit me so hard when I heard her first voice memo and still do, every time. Justin lifted the song further into the heavens, and my brother [Bryce Dessner]’s strings and drummer Jason Treuting add so much. The feeling and sound of this song feel very much at the heart of ‘How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?’ I’m so grateful to Taylor for continuing to share her incredible talent with me and that we are still finding excuses to make music together.”

This is the third song shared from the new album, How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?, following up “Latter Days” and “The Ghost Of Cincinnati.” The album will be out 8/27 via Jagjagwar/37d03d. Pre-order it here.

At the end of 2019, IDK released his major-label debut album, Is He Real? A year and a half later, the DMV rapper is ready to repeat the same kind of success with his upcoming sophomore album, USee4Yourself. While the project won’t arrive for another week, July 9 to be specific, IDK delivers one more single for fans to enjoy with “Pradadabang” featuring Young Thug. The bouncy effort sees the two rappers airing their grievances about gold-digging women who seem to bring them more problems than happiness.

The new track is the third single from USee4Yourself. It arrives weeks after IDK shared “Peloton,” an exuberant effort that finds him flexing some muscle after a woman labels him as the one for her. The project’s lead single, “Shoot My Shot” with Offset, is another ladies-focused track that is riddled with confidence and boastful thoughts from IDK and the Migos-counterpart.

As for USee4Yourself, the album present 17 songs for fans to enjoy when it arrives next week. While IDK is preparing to release the project, “Pradadabang” comes after Thug teamed up with his YSL record label for Slime Language 2, which debuted at No. 1 on the album charts.

You can press play on “Pradadabang” in the video above.

USee4Yourself is out 7/9 via Clue No Clue/Warner Records. Pre-order it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Spike Lee’s love of the New York Knicks is legendary at this point, but despite the Knickerbockers’ early postseason exit the director will have a big impact on the upcoming NBA Finals.

According to Variety, Lee will direct the opening segments aired on ABC before the games that will determine this year’s NBA champion. The openings, which will feature Lee on screen and behind the camera, hopes to encapsulate the enormity of the Finals ahead of the Phoenix Suns hosting their Eastern Conference opponents in the upcoming championship series.

Each game on ABC will air one of Lee’s four episodes, inspired by NBA legends of both yesterday and today. The openers use a combination of video footage and still images, incorporating historical highlights of the players who have made their marks on the league’s championship series.

…

In the teaser for the first opener, Lee says, “From the blue seats [of Madison Square Garden], to the ticker-tape parade: We’re all in this game together. Every possession, every call, every chant of ‘Defense!’… It’s the NBA Finals, Game 1!”

It’s unclear if Lee will produce more openers if the series goes past four games, which is likely barring a resounding sweep. But either way, Lee sounds very excited about getting a crack at the opens to the biggest games of the season.

“As a basketball aficionado and an orange-and-blue faithful it is my honor and pleasure to direct the NBA Finals opens,” Lee said in a statement to Variety. “I thank Commissioner Adam Silver, ESPN and ABC for giving me the opportunity to do what I love — sports and cinema. YA-DIG? SHO-NUFF.”

[via Variety]