Steven Soderbergh’s Erin Brockovich (2000) led to an Oscar win for Julia Roberts and the household-name elevation of the environmental activist who persisted with her cause (justice!) despite all odds. Add in some Gemma Teller flavor on behalf of Sons of Anarchy‘s Katey Sagal, and you’ve got one heck of a spicy protagonist. This seems like a natural progression in Sagal’s return to a TV series regular role (long after Married… with Children) after most recently appearing in Shameless as a character who gave Frank a run for his grifting money. Also fittingly enough, this new show, Rebel, is executive produced both by Brockovich and Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff, who also wrote on Shameless, so things are all coming together.
By coming together, I mean that now we’ve got Sagal wielding a shotgun and refusing to take any lip from anyone, although the trailer makes it look like Rebel (as she is so nicknamed) isn’t having whatever John Corbett is selling. He’s portraying a male lead, as is Andy Garcia, and I hope Rebel out-badasses both of them after they get under her skin. Don’t lie, you’ll enjoy it, too. Yes, this show is very much inspired by Brockovich’s life, so please enjoy this synopsis:
Inspired by the life of Erin Brockovich today, Annie “Rebel” Bello is a blue-collar legal advocate without a law degree. She’s a funny, messy, brilliant and fearless woman who cares desperately about the causes she fights for and the people she loves. When Rebel applies herself to a fight she believes in, she will win at almost any cost.
The Wonder Years (the great show, not the great band) is returning to television with a reboot from The United States vs. Billie Holiday director Lee Daniels. Like the original coming-of-age classic, the new series takes place during the 1960s; unlike the old Wonder Years, however, the new Wonder Years is focused on a Black family living in Montgomery, Alabama. The lead role will be played by youngster Elisha “EJ” Williams, who received the good news from Kevin Arnold himself, Fred Savage.
“We got you on this Zoom because we wanted to welcome you to the family and tell you that it’s your turn to be the star of The Wonder Years,” Savage (who’s directing the pilot) told Williams. “It’s your part, man. Welcome.” It’s very cute. Williams will play Dean, an “inquisitive and hopeful 12-year-old kid coming of age in a turbulent time,” according to Variety. “It’s 1968 in Montgomery, Alabama, and Dean is trying to figure out his place within his Black family and the world at large. Though a little insecure, a tad awkward and a bit self-conscious, he is determined to make his mark on the world around him.”
The show comes from writer Saladin K. Patterson (The Big Bang Theory, The Bernie Mac Show) and executive producer Lee Daniels… [Williams] joins Saycon Sengbloh (In the Dark), who will play Dean’s mother, Lillian, in the show’s cast.
The Wonder Years reboot does not have a premiere date yet, but whenever it’s on, Joe Cocker still better be doing the theme song.
Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm and blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B jams that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.
Brent Faiyaz — “Show U Off”
Brent Faiyaz has taken a step back from his usual toxic R&B slow jams this week to celebrate women with his newly released cut “Show U Off.” Its the latest in a string of singles the singer has unleashed this year, so hopefully that means a follow-up to 2019’s F*ck The World is coming soon.
Giveon — “All To Me”
Giveon delivered Take Time in 2020 and When It’s All Said And Done in 2021. This week, he combined the two into one and offered an extra song to go with it titled “All To Me.” The song is so good its a wonder why it wasn’t included on either projects originally, or perhaps Giveon just never misses.
Jacquees — “Freaky As Me” Feat. Mulatto
Jacquees and Mulatto connect for the R&B singer’s sensual slow jam “Freaky As Me.” The song is set to appear on his upcoming project P.T.O.F: Vol. 1 and is the follow-up to his previously released cut “Put In Work,” from last year.
Fousheé — “Sing About Love”
Following the release of “Single Af,” rising R&B star Fousheé offers another lively cut in the form of “Sing About Love.” Fousheé is on a streak, proving she’s more than her popular TikTok song “Deep End” and absolutely here to stay.
SZA — “Good Days”
The video for SZA‘s “Good Days” is here. She teased the number at the end of her song “Hit Different” with Ty Dolla Sign and now she offers a music video for the magical song which takes place in a psychedelic rain forest filled with mushrooms as well as a library that sees SZA showing off her pole dancing skills. At the end of “Good Days” is a special treat for all the fans who are waiting for the TDE princess to release her yet-to-be-officially-named song “Shirt,” which has essentially blown up on TikTok. Now we can hear what she’s saying in 4K.
Jhene Aiko — Sailing Soul(s)
When Jhene Aiko released her debut mixtape Sailing Soul(s), fans had to download a zip file to hear it or head to DatPiff. 10 years later, the singer has it officially placed on streaming services. Listen to good vibes such as the famed “stranger,” “hoe” featuring Miguel and Future (which was repurposed for her 2020 album Chilomobo), as well as a few SoundCloud loosies like “2 Seconds.”
Feather — “Juke”
Shortly after sharing her new single “Juke,” Feather has dropped off its accompanying video directed by Noyze. A clear ode to Chicago style of music, the visual features the ultimate footwork battle in an underground basement as Feather croons “let’s juke” in between a smooth sample of DJ Rashad’s “Juke.”
Trevor Jackson — “Get To You”
As Trevor Jackson gets ready for the release of his debut album, The Love Language, he shares “Get To You.” The rising singer’s raw voice sings of missing his ex and things he’d do to get to her. “Love is the universal language of all things and I hope this album gives people more confidence to understand their own love languages and how to communicate them,” he said in a statement. “The power of this music will not only bring people together but it’ll also bring people closer to themselves.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
New Balance’s return to the basketball sneaker market began in 2018-19 with the OMN1S, with Kawhi Leonard branching out into his own signature line from there. As the brand has continued to add more talent to its roster like Dejounte Murray and, most recently, Jamal Murray, alongside their original intern, Darius Bazley, they’ve developed a new sneaker to add to their line, the TWO WXY.
The third sneaker in New Balance’s return to basketball features the brand’s FuelCell foam technology for cushion, as well as a Kinetic Stitch upper that provides support and stretch for comfort. The sneaker features a fairly familiar midsole silhouette, and has a midsole shank for added stability. Designer Jonathan Grondin notes that the TWO WXY is all about the performance, with Bazley and both Murrays debuting the sneaker on court this season.
“With the TWO WXY, we wanted to create something that players at any level would not only want to wear, but need to wear, if they wish to perform at the highest level,” says Jonathan Grondin, Design Director for Field of Play and Basketball at New Balance. “For decades, the focus of the basketball shoe world has been more on the superstar names and less on performance. The TWO WXY is all about the technology and giving every player, whether they’re competing for an NBA championship or a state title, the same opportunity to maximize their potential.”
New Balance
The OMN1S and Kawhis have both drawn strong performance reviews, as New Balance has come out strong in their return to the hardwood, and adding Jamal Murray only further shows the traction they are gaining in the league. The first two colorways are available now at New Balance and other retailers for $140, with a blue and gold colorway that, fittingly, can be worn in OKC or Denver (where Bazley and Jamal play) and a Fiesta colorway for Dejounte. More colorways will come out as 2021 progresses, including a Jamaican-themed pair Jamal Murray is designing to honor his father’s heritage.
The final trailer for The Falcon And The Winter Soldier shows the Marvel universe begging for a new Captain America, and Disney+ is officially ready to deliver one later in the week. Before that, though, the streaming service released a final trailer for the MCU miniseries that follows WandaVision in Phase Four.
Unlike the heavily-stylized WandaVision, though, this one skips the TV nostalgia and gets straight to business. There are several villains — potentially including a Captain America knockoff superhero — and lots of high-flying stunt work from Sam Wilson, who seems ready to answer the call and follow in Steve Rogers’ footsteps himself.
“Symbols are nothing without the men and women that give them meaning,” he says in a speech while the trailer shows a display of Cap’s uniform, shield, and motorcycle. A later voiceover makes it clear that the post-Steve Barnes world is yearning for a new Captain America. Thankfully, it seems there are at least two potential candidates for the title.
Borrowing from some earlier teasers, the trailer shows a bit of the back-and-forth between Bucky Barnes and Wilson, but this time there’s far less actual tension and a lot more mutual respect. Probably because, well, there’s a lot of fighting to be done outside of their partnership. Or team. Whatever they want to call it.
All of that uncertainty sets the stage for a show that will give us a lot of insight into what the MCU will look like moving forward. While WandaVision certainly had its charms and important lore, the second Marvel show on Disney+ seems to be all about that action. Which probably means there’s no time for commercials this time around.
Tucker Carlson sparked a fierce response from military officials and the Pentagon spokesperson, and Ted Cruz thinks everyone’s being mean. That sounds about right for a senator who helped to incite an insurrection to try to keep a bully-president in office, but here we go, so let’s do a quick recap.
Last week, Tucker actually may have gone too far by ridiculed women in combat while declaring, “Pregnant women are going to fight our wars. It’s a mockery of the US military.” Prominent members of the military community (including several officials — General Paul Funk, Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sgt. Scott H. Stalker, and Major General Patrick Donahoe, and Fort Hood Deputy Commanding General John B. Richardson IV — and the Pentagon spokesperson) pushed back hard against Tucker. They weren’t alone, either, and the anger wasn’t at all confined to people of a particular political persuasion. Joe Walsh declared, “Every woman in the military I’ve ever met could absolutely kick Tucker Carlson’s ass.” And Senator Tammy Duckworth (a Purple Heart recipient and Iraqi War vet who lost both legs in combat) told Tucker to f*ck off before reheating her criticism of how he questioned her patriotism.
Well, Ted Cruz is here for Tucker, and he’s demanding a probe into whether or not the military is bullying the Fox News host. Naturally, Ted suggests that President Biden has something to do with this “campaign,” for which Ted believes, “Officials in uniform are being used.” Ted even fired off a letter to U.S. Secretary Of Defense Lloyd Austin.
“Under Biden, the military is launching political attacks to intimidate Tucker Carlson & other civilians who criticize their policy decisions,” Cruz tweeted. “Officials in uniform are being used for the campaign. I’ve demanded a meeting with the Commandant of the USMC to put a stop to it.”
Under Biden, the military is launching political attacks to intimidate Tucker Carlson & other civilians who criticize their policy decisions.
Officials in uniform are being used for the campaign.
The letter’s actually kind of amazing. Ted is accusing the military of “systematic, public attacks against television host Tucker Carlson” and picking a political side (by responding to Tucker’s mocking of pregnant women who are brave enough to serve active duty). This makes Ted feel “deeply concerned about what it portends for the direction that you and President Biden intend to move the military.”
The Not-Zodiac-Killer wasn’t done yet. “This spectacle risks politicizing the military after several centuries of efforts to keep military officials out of domestic affairs,” he wrote in his letter. “This kind of behaviour, while perhaps typical in a military-controlled Third World country, is completely unacceptable in the United States of America.”
Lloyd Austin probably has more than enough on his plate already than to deal with a senator who thinks that a Fox News host is being bullied for gleefully trashing female soldiers on-air, but who knows, maybe we’ll actually see a response?
The Grammys were just last night, so that’s still fresh on the minds of music fans today. That said, Drake just pulled off a feat that’s arguably more impressive than anything anybody did at the Grammys yesterday (except perhaps for Beyonce’s big record): Drake had three songs debut on the new Billboard Hot 100 chart dated March 20, which are the entirety of his recent After Hours 2 EP: “What’s Next,” “Wants And Needs” featuring Lil Baby, and “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” with Rick Ross. That’s nice, but the impressive part is the fact that those songs debuted at Nos. 1, 2, and 3, meaning that Drake currently has the top three songs in the country.
This is the first time an artist has ever had three songs debut in the top three spots of the Hot 100 chart in the same week. Drake is also just the third artist to have three songs simultaneously in the top 3 spots debut or otherwise, following Ariana Grande and The Beatles.
This ends the eight-week reign that Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” spent atop the chart. That hit has fallen down to No. 5, as Silk Sonic (aka Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak) debuts at No. 4 with “Leave The Door Open.” This is .Paak’s first song to ever chart on the Hot 100. It’s also Mars’ first top-5 hit since his Cardi B collaboration “Please Me” peaked at No. 3 in 2019.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The first reviews for Zack Snyder’s Justice League have started rolling in, and so far, the consensus is clear: The film easily surpasses the theatrical cut that Joss Whedon fumbled in 2017, which infamously bombed with critics and audiences and almost took down the entire DC Extended Universe with it. This new version, better known as the Snyder Cut, has nearly reached a mythological status amongst hardcore Snyder fans who have clamored for its release after learning that the director was supposedly sitting on a rough cut of his original version for Justice League. Many doubted its existence, or that it would ever see the light of day, but thanks to WarnerMedia needing content for its burgeoning HBO Max streaming service, a shocking $70 million was reportedly ponied up for Snyder to finally release his definitive version of the film.
But now that it’s here, what do critics think? Again, there’s definitely a consensus that the film is a significant improvement, thanks to its singular vision that was lacking in the Whedon version, which felt like two very different films stapled together. However, there are concerns over the film’s four-hour plus length and how well it will connect with audiences who aren’t die-hard Snyder fans. Because the film is very much a Zack Snyder film for every single frame of its very long runtime. Whether that will be general audience’s cup of tea will be interesting to see when Zack Snyder’s Justice League starts streaming later this week.
Yes, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is just over four hours long, divided into individual chapters in case a person doesn’t want to watch it all in one sitting. And most of that padded time is used to show us the backstories of each of the characters, which kind of reveals the biggest problem with both of these versions: in that it came out way too early in this DC Universe that was being built. In Whedon’s version we knew almost nothing about these characters. In Snyder’s version we know more, and it certainly helps the story, but now it’s a four hour movie about searching for magic, world-destroying boxes.
The new movie — and make no mistake, it really is a new movie — is more than a vindication of Snyder’s original vision. It’s a grand, nimble, and immersive entertainment, a team-of-heroes origin story that, at heart, is classically conventional, yet it’s now told with such an intoxicating childlike sincerity and ominous fairy-tale wonder that it takes you back to what comic books, at their best, have always sought to do: make you feel like you’re seeing gods at play on Earth.
Did Snyder really intend the original film to last four hours? Well, this one does: an epic so splurgingly huge that you can see how it might have been purposed as four streaming episodes. Yet its dramatic and theological craziness only really come across when you consume it all at once.
Yet the overall arc of this “Justice League” coheres throughout, providing occasional dashes of intrigue and inspired visual conceits, and sometimes it’s even fun. Re-centering the drama around ostracized actor Ray Fisher as Cyborg, and drawing out some of the ostentatious fight sequences to their breaking point, “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” displays genuine effort to make this impossible gamble click.
For better or worse, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a reclamation, and a blow struck for unchecked artistic ego in the face of the endless (if maybe sometimes sensible) notes of meddling studio execs. No one would confuse this cut, with its hero-pose tableau, Nick Cave needle drops, and depressive caped crusaders, for the work of any other filmmaker.
Typically for a Snyder movie, a big chunk of the hefty running time is spent in super slow motion. Sometimes, the director overindulges … but generally it’s used in the service of accentuating action beats. At times, it feels needlessly violent … but more often than not it feels satisfying, especially in a crowdpleasing final act.
One could easily damn Justice League with faint praise for its single-minded sense of purpose, exceptional technical expertise and consistency of tone. You could more easily lambast it for the same reasons. It just drones un-varyingly along, like a spaceship on a very long journey.
Zack Snyder superhero movies are the black licorice of cinema: Those who like the taste can’t understand why everyone doesn’t, and those who don’t like the taste grimace at the thought. And now the streaming wars and online clamor have brought us “Zack Snyder’s Justice League.” It’s four hours of black licorice.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League premieres March 18 on HBO Max.
Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.
This week saw Selena Gomez’ debut Spanish-language project and Doja Cat radically transforming a recent single. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
Doja Cat — “Streets (Disclosure Remix)”
Doja Cat has a TikTok-boosted hit on her hands with “Streets,” which prompted her to release the album track as a single last week. Days later, she recruited Disclosure to remix the song, turning it into a more upbeat and percussive affair than the TikTok kids Silhouette Challenge’d to.
Selena Gomez — Revelación
Gomez indicated recently that she’s considering leaving music over not being taken seriously; Cardi B doesn’t think Gomez should be so quick to drop the mic and offered an alternative to retirement. If Gomez does decide to stop singing, though, it will be after dropping her latest project last week, her Spanish-language EP Revelación.
Giveon — “All To Me”
Giveon has been on fire lately. 2020 yielded a pair of new projects from the Long Beach singer, and last Friday brought about another pair of releases. In addition to a video for Take Time standout “Heartbreak Anniversary,” he dropped a new track, the yearning “All To Me.”
Perfume Genius — Immediately Remixes
Perfume Genius had quite the album on his hands last year with Set My Heart On Fire Immediately, and now he is continuing to ride that wave into 2021. He’s doing so with Immediately Remixes, a remix album that offers everything from touch-ups to radical transformations courtesy of people like Jim-E Stack, A. G. Cook, and Danny L Harle.
Chika — Once Upon A Time
Berninger previously told Uproxx that his solo album Serpentine Prison began with a series of covers before he shifted his focus to original songs. Now, some of those covers have surfaced on a new deluxe edition of the album and they include songs by the Velvet Underground, Bettye Swan, Morphine, and Eddie Floyd.
Dominic Fike — “The Kiss Of Venus” (Paul McCartney cover)
After dropping McCartney III last year, Paul McCartney announced McCartney III Imagined, on which he recruited a handful of artists to provide covers, remixes, or other sorts of reimaginings of the album’s songs. He introduced the collection with a Dominic Fike rendition of “The Kiss Of Venus,” which takes the song from acoustic to R&B.
D Smoke — Spotify Singles
Before D Smoke learned the fate of his Grammy nominations this past weekend, he dropped a pair of new recordings via the Spotify Singles series. One was “Sade” — an ode to the titular singer and music’s healing power overall — and the other was “Gaspar Yanga Remix” — a rework of his Snoop Dogg-featuring original.
Watts — “Feels” Feat. Khalid
A few months ago, Khalid indicated that his next album would be out in early 2021. While this year hasn’t yielded a new Khalid project yet, he did pop up on a new track last week. Rather, it was a rework of an older song, as he featured on a remix of Watts’ 2018 song “Feels.”
Nick Jonas — Spaceman
While Nick Jonas has been highly visible over the past few years through his TV appearances and the Jonas Brothers reunion, it had actually been a while since his most recent solo album, 2016’s Last Year Was Complicated (which sounds like an appropriate title for an album released in 2021). He made his solo return last week, though, with a new album called Spaceman, an idea he used to personify the feelings of isolation that 2020 brought.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Perhaps this year more than ever, a good handful of prominent artists have made it clear that they have major issues with the Grammys and the Recording Academy. The most prevalent example is The Weeknd, who may never be involved in the show again if he keeps up his end of the boycott he announced just days ago. Lil Wayne has also expressed his discontent, and now, the day after the Grammys, he has done so as economically as possible.
Today, the rapper tweeted simply, “F*k the Grammys.”
This isn’t the first time this Grammys cycle he criticized the show. Back towards the end of 2020, Wayne openly wondered why he didn’t get nominated or invited to the show this year, tweeting, “As an artist, when I see da Grammys coming up & I’m not involved nor invited; I wonder. Is it me , my musik, or just another technicality? I look around w respect & wonder competitively am I not worthy?! Then I look around & see 5 Grammys looking bak at me & I go to the studio.”
Technically, Wayne did find his name on the list of this year’s Grammy nominees, although not for anything he did musically: His album Funeral was nominated for Best Recording Package, an award the album did not end up winning.
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