The final Succession season will soon be upon us. How many episodes remain until the Roy family’s story ends?
Sadly, not enough episodes shall happen, but there’s something to be said for the show coming to an end while it’s on top. However, HBO has dropped the final trailer, which of course points towards more turmoil after Tom’s betrayal of Shiv in the third season finale. It’s like a reverse coup happened with Logan circling wagons to stay in power, but maintaining that power won’t be easy. As the trailer suggests, he may be attempting to divide the Roy siblings by wooing Roman to the dark side.
Heck, all sides are dark when it comes to Waystar Royco, which has kind-of been in the can for awhile, and maybe Alexander Skarsgard’s character will rule the world in the series finale. But again, how many more episodes will this take?
Ten. That means we have about two-and-a-half months of weekly event TV when the tinkling opening notes of the theme song might cause chills to run down your spine in the best way. Event TV has been back for awhile (starting with House of the Dragon), but it’s staying strong this month with the returns of not only Succession but also Yellowjackets and Ted Lasso. We live in highly entertaining times.
Succession returns for its fourth and final season on March 26.
But the critical response to Blonde was polarizing, and it was only (“only”) nominated for one Academy Award. What a nomination, though! First time Best Actress nominee Ana de Armas is magnificent as Marilyn Monroe, and ahead of the 2023 Oscars, she spoke to the Hollywood Reporter about the reaction to the film.
“Of course, the reaction that gets the most attention is the one in the U.S., but that wasn’t the whole experience. It’s hard to hear these reactions, but you can always go back to what you experienced, and why you did it, and the reasons why you were attracted to the project. That is not going to change,” she said. de Armas called Blonde “not a movie that was made to please people or to make people like it.” In that sense, it was an unmitigated success.
She continued:
“I feel like the movie also makes the audience feel like participants. We contributed at the time, and we still contribute, in the exploitation of actors, people in the public eye. We, the audience, do this. And I feel like it’s possible that some people have felt like [someone] pointed a finger at [them].”
Blonde didn’t get the Best Picture nomination, but it did make history as the first NC-17-rated film to be released by a streaming service. Take that, CODA.
Kevin Durant made his debut for the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night. Phoenix acquired Durant ahead of the NBA trade deadline from the Brooklyn Nets in an overnight swap that immediately positioned the team to be one of the favorites to win the Western Conference and compete for a title.
It was the second gigantic move the Nets pulled that week in response to a player wanting a change in scenery, as the team sent Kyrie Irving to Dallas on the heels of a trade request. But despite that, Durant could have decided to stay in Brooklyn and, once he got healthy, play in a familiar place. That didn’t happen, and now, he’s in Phoenix.
Prior to his debut, Durant sat down with Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo and laid out why he felt he needed to go somewhere new. As he tells it, while he was used to playing in Brooklyn, the sheer amount of roster turnover was a concern.
“I was thinking about who’s in the building, then when s*** started happening. We’re not playing well. KI requested a trade. It felt like a lot of s*** wasn’t happening for us. But I was locked in. I felt like my play showed people that I was really committed to the organization.
“I looked up, like what am I gonna do? I don’t know who’s gonna be my teammates, so I was a little nervous with that happening. And we were able to work something out.”
Durant’s debut with the Suns went rather well, as the team picked up a 105-91 win over the Hornets in Charlotte. Durant scored 23 points on 10-for-15 shooting in 27 minutes of work.
The inspirational sports movie format is so firmly ingrained at this point that studios can pump them out in their sleep. What makes one special is a filmmaker who isn’t sleepwalking, and it seems like MGM found one right under their noses. Creed star Michael B. Jordan directs Creed III, this latest installment of the Rocky spinoff (the ninth Rocky movie, for those keeping track) in his directorial debut, and makes it feel like fresh eyes were just what it needed.
Jordan doesn’t reinvent the format, but like any good sports movie protagonist, he gives the impression that he was hungry; that he’d had been sitting on a few ideas for how to make one of these movies for the past eight years. There are a few charming videos going around, with Jordan’s co-star, Jonathan Majors, talking about how Jordan had made him prep for the role by watching a bunch of anime. I’m not enough of an anime guy to point out every anime touchstone in Creed III, but it was palpable that Jordan had a vision. Michael B. Jordan feels like he’s making his movie, rather than “a Rocky movie,” and that’s a crucial distinction.
Speaking of Jonathan Majors, whose career has taken him from The Last Black Man In San Francisco to Kang in the last Ant-Man movie (which he was the best part of even though it mostly sucked), he’s a luminescent presence, with one of those effortlessly expressive faces that you can’t help constantly searching for hidden meaning like a renaissance painting.
One of Creed III‘s obvious strengths is that stars a bunch of people who are interesting to look at, even when they aren’t doing much. Majors joins Tessa Thompson and Michael B. Jordan, and with Stallone gone (his absence neither addressed nor explained in the film) there’s room for even more Wood Harris — as Creed’s trainer, Duke. “More Wood Harris” is a good rule of thumb just generally, one of the most underrated, thoroughly watchable dudes around since he was playing Avon Barksdale on The Wire. I would watch him paint a house.
Which also goes for Majors, who clearly wasn’t cast because he looked good throwing a punch. At least, that is, if I’m to judge by how seldom Creed III actually shows his character throwing a punch with his face in the same frame (virtually never). For Majors, it’s a sacrifice worth making.
Majors plays “Diamond” Damian Anderson, who was once like a brother to Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis “Donnie” Creed. They grew up together in a violent group home (shades of the Shamrock boys), and I admit I was struggling a bit to remember the Creed lore — that Adonis was the son of world-famous boxing champion Apollo Creed, but importantly, a bastard son, not acknowledged by Apollo’s widow, Mary Anne, played by Phylicia Rashad, until she adopted him as a teen. Creed III doesn’t waste any time rehashing these facts and I probably should’ve studied up a little beforehand, which is probably more a criticism of the previous two Creed movies for not being more memorable than this one for not holding our hand.
Anyway, before Donnie was adopted by Mama Creed and became a securities broker and then retired to become a boxer and subsequently became a champion (phew!), we learn that he was in a group home with this dude Damian, who was a little older, Donnie’s mentor in both boxing and life. Then Damian got locked up for 18 years, presumably shadow-boxing cinder block walls and cursing his bad luck while Donnie was out becoming champion. But now Damian’s out, trying to make up for lost time. At first Donnie helps him, out of a sense of guilt, whose origins will become clear only later — but there’s always a sense of ungratefulness and an undercurrent of menace with which Damian accepts Donnie’s help.
Some of the best villains are the ones who kind of have a point. Michael B. Jordan played one himself in Black Panther, and Majors nails it here, embodying the classic tension between the striver whose crass (but maybe necessary) grasping rubs the now-complacent overachiever the wrong way. Jordan, meanwhile, does a solid job conveying the tension of his character trying not to be the selfish dick he worries he is, to the point that he’s maaaaybe ignoring his correct instincts. As Wood Harris tells him (in a great line made even greater coming from Wood Harris), “This guy already showed you who is, Donnie. Believe him.”
The personal drama between Damian and Donnie is the heart of the film, so well written and surprisingly nuanced (with a script by Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin) that it could’ve worked as a story arc on premium cable. If there’s a big drawback to Creed III, it’s the actual boxing (which the format requires make up a decent portion of the film). It’s not terrible, just a little anticlimactic by comparison.
Movie boxing doesn’t look nearly so fake and stagey as it did in the 70s (even the actual boxing in Raging Bull looks pretty bad), but the relative seamlessness with which they can stage it now might not be such a good thing. Filmmakers can make punches look and sound more realistic than ever before, such that they don’t have to compensate with as many art tricks and stylization.
What this review presupposes is… maybe they should? The artsy stylization of Raging Bull or the exaggerated fight choreography of Rocky IV might not have been realistic, but it was an effective way to communicate emotion. A lot of modern boxing scenes to me are like the fight equivalent of that Carl’s Jr. ad where Todd Gurley eats a CGI burger. It looks okay enough to fool you in a two-second shot, which is actually a pretty incredible technological advancement, but it doesn’t stand up to further scrutiny. It conveys “realism” only in the most cursory sense and little else.
Jordan does utilize a degree of stylization in Creed III’s fights, probably more than his predecessors, Ryan Coogler and Steven Caple Jr., but still not enough. It feels like Jordan is holding onto the fights themselves as climactic moments because that’s true for past movies, though it applies more awkwardly to this one.
In its character development, Creed III actually accomplishes what so many Marvel movies lately have attempted and failed: creating compelling lore and characters who could (and surely will) exist beyond the ending of this movie. It would be nice to see the Creed franchise go the way of early Game Of Thrones and have more of the actual battles take place offscreen or only briefly; the buildup, the characters, and the larger lore are much more interesting than the actual fights.
But look at me, playing fantasy studio exec when I’m on record calling that a terrible way to watch movies (and experience life). Maybe that’s because while Creed III is satisfying enough as a movie (definitely better than Creed II, and probably comparable to Creed) it feels like there were more viable storylines here than it could tie up.
‘Creed III’ opens in theaters nationwide March 3rd. Vince Mancini is on Twitter. You can read more of his reviews here.
.@phoebe_bridgers‘ songs speak to universal feelings—but they are also deeply personal. Her writing process involves mining the secrets she keeps from even herself.
In Bridgers’ accompanying Time capsule, she recounted a concert of hers in Florida last year where a kid and their parents left after she’d stopped mid-show to advocate for abortion rights. “I hope it makes a difference,” Bridgers told the publication of that moment. “I hope those parents are going to lose the battle with that kid’s opinions and belief systems.”
Bridgers will have plenty more opportunities to use her platform for more than just setlists while opening for a portion of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour. “I try not to think about it that hard or I’ll freak out,” Bridgers told Time about opening for Swift.
The Eras Tour is slated to kick off March 17 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Bridgers will join on May 5 at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium and stay on as an opener for 12 shows through May 28, finishing off with three-straight nights at MetLife Stadium.
The Record is out 3/31 via Interscope Records. Find more information here.
Jenna Ortega stopped by the latest episode of Hot Ones where the Wednesday star got very serious about guacamole, which is definitely one of the most delicious dips known to man. However, despite its simplicity, the recipe is very easy to botch, and Ortega shared her thoughts on making the perfect guac while powering through a mouth full of spicy wings with host Sean Evans.
“Whole lotta lime. You need so much lime in there and jalapeños,” Ortega said. “Just choose good avocados, but lime, yeah, lime is the answer. I hate it when they throw pico de gallo just on top like very casually, just a couple of tomatoes. It doesn’t do anything for me. Either fully submerged, really mix it in there. Do it the right way. If I don’t see any cilantro in there, disappointing instantly. And, yeah, if the avocados are too white, then you know that it’s going to be hard and they’re just not ready.”
However, things got fiery when Evans brought up one of the greatest culinary crimes in recent history, the infamous “peas in the guacamole” recipe, which Ortega was not having.
EVANS: In 2015, The New York Times published a controversial guacamole recipe. They called for a ratio of 2 to 3 cups of fresh green peas to every three avocados-
ORTEGA: F*ck that. It’s like not even controversial. That’s obviously incorrect.
Ortega’s pointed delivery of “F*ck that,” which she delivered while her mouth was on fire, is the stuff of memes. Expect to see lots of videos like the one below bouncing around in the days, and possibly years, ahead.
Boygenius — the supergroup of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker — are getting ready to release their highly anticipated debut full-length The Record later this month. So far, singles “$20,” “Emily I’m Sorry,” “True Blue,” and “Not Strong Enough” are making the wait even harder, but luckily they’ve given fans another preview.
They debuted an unreleased track, “Cool About It,” last night (March 1) at the annual Tibet House US benefit show in New York City after being added last-minute. The performance is haunting and beautiful. Watch a clip below. They also played “Not Strong Enough.”
The Record is sure to be an emotional experience, especially considering the chaotic writing of the LP. “Lucy first sang ‘We’re In Love’ a cappella to Phoebe, in Phoebe’s bed, on New Years Day in 2022,” the press release explained. “They were holding each other’s faces: a function of totally legal drugs. Lucy was weeping and did not blink. Later, in the studio, Julien thought the song was too… long. In retrospect, Julien hadn’t been ready to engage. When the truth sank in, the truth of a love song, she went away for six hours. (Julien: ‘It’s still a learning process to know the difference between being scrutinized and being seen.’) Then she came back. She was ready.”
Watch their performance of “Not Strong Enough” above.
The Record is out 3/31 via Interscope Records. Find more information here.
The Los Angeles Lakers won’t have the services of LeBron James for an indefinite period of time. James went down with a foot injury during the third quarter of L.A.’s comeback win over the Dallas Mavericks earlier this week, saying that he heard something pop. While he finished out the game, the expectation is now that James will miss multiple weeks with the injury.
It’s the worst possible thing that could happen to a Lakers team with aspirations of making a push during the stretch run of the regular season. But if there is a silver lining, it’s that James won’t need to go under the knife to remedy the situation. According to Chris Haynes on the #thisleague UNCUT podcast, James’ injury won’t require surgery, and if need be, he could “probably” play right now, even if he would be in considerable pain.
“So what I can say on LeBron is that sources did inform me that he will not require surgery, that’s good news,” Haynes said at the 32:02 mark of the pod. “And so, that’s good news for the Lakers. Right now, it’s all about time and the rehabbing process. This is why it’s a crucial period: The Lakers have to really do what they can to buy him some time. What I mean by that is they gotta win, they gotta win a chunk of games, move up these standings to keep buying LeBron some time. That’s what it’s gonna take during this process.
“Could LeBron get out there and play right now? It’d be a risk, but I think he probably could, if he necessarily had to,” he continued. “But it’s too much of a risk, it’s too much pain right now. The plan right now is to give him as much time as heal for this rehab process, but the Lakers gotta win.”
Los Angeles is 30-33 and sit in 13th place in the Western Conference, a full game back of the New Orleans Pelicans for the 12-seed and the final play-in spot.
LANNDS are soaring to new heights. The psych pop duo, composed of LA-based vocalist-guitarist Rania Woodard and multi-instrumentalist Brian Squillace, are gearing up for the release of their debut LP after years of dropping one off projects and singles. Music For The Future, out Friday on Run For Cover, combines Woodward’s angelic vocals with bright percussive elements harkening back to the likes of aughts indie pop mainstays like Neon Indian and Cut Copy.
On Music For The Future, sparkling chords, airy melodies, and gritty beats are juxtaposed to create irresistible, dance-ready anthems. With tracks like “K Town” and “Vega,” LANNDS manage to make blown out earworms — all while taking a DIY approach. Each song on Music For The Future was entirely produced and engineered by the duo themselves. “When we do it ourselves, even if it’s a little more ‘home done’ sounding, it’s just more us,” Squillace says.
Ahead of the release of Music For The Future, LANNDS sat down with Uproxx to talk Green Day, mac and cheese, and Connect Four in our latest Q&A.
What are four words you would use to describe your music?
Drippy plant psych pop
It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
Squillace: Sh*t that old people f*ck with.
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?
Woodard: Brooklyn. We had a great show at Rough Trade. RIP.
Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?
Woodard: My family in the sense that it allows me to be more vulnerable and talk about my real problems and traumas, and as an artist I feel like that’s important.
Where did you eat the best meal of your life?
Woodard: My mom’s mac and cheese.
What album do you know every word to?
Squillace: Green Day’s Dookie.
What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?
Woodard: Bon Iver in Charleston, SC. He was touring on 22 A Million, and you could hear a pin drop.
What is the best outfit for performing and why?
Squillace: Shorts and flip flops. Whatever is the most chill and lets the audience know that we are definitely not cops.
Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?
What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?
“Linger” by the Cranberries.
What’s the last thing you Googled?
Woodard: “Beyonce tour manager”
What album makes for the perfect gift?
Squillace: There is a legend that if you give someone Shania Twain’s Up they will have good luck for 20 years.
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?
Squillace: We stayed at a motel in Detroit that was under construction and full of drug dealers. Not the cool kind. And we kept hearing strange noises from the room beside us, overall terrifying.
What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?
Woodard: In 2017 I got drunk at John Shannon’s house, and Jesse Brantman gave me my first stick and poke tattoo. It’s a pizza triangle.
What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?
Squillace: If you mean hitting the skip button on Spotify That artist would be Fred Again..
What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?
Woodard: I had friends come together and help me furnish my first LA apartment. They all pitched in money so I could by furniture.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
Woodard: Don’t overthink everything, trust your gut. Everyone is so wrapped up in their own problems that they don’t care what you’re doing, so do whatever you want.
What’s the last show you went to?
Woodard: Porches solo show at the Echo.
What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?
Woodard:Independence Day starring Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum.
What’s one of your hidden talents?
Squillace: I’m absolutely 100 percent undefeated at connect four.
Music For The Future is out 3/3 via Run For Cover. Pre-order it here.
You have to be really smart to get on Jeopardy, obviously, because they don’t just let anyone walk on set and make educated guesses (though they do allow that sometimes). The latest crop of contestants is actually former high school champions who are returning in their old age to battle it out as college contestants.
Audrey Satchivi, a senior at Indiana University, decided to share her interesting hobby when prompted by host Mayim Bialik. “Yeah, so I’m kind of an old soul,” the contestant explained. “I’ve been collecting some things that are kind of obsolete now.” You’ll never guess what she said next!
Satchivi continued, “I’ve been collecting records, CDs, and DVDs. I just got a new DVD, and I’m really excited about it, but I miss my childhood a little bit I guess,” she said. Satchivi might not realize these items are less obsolete than expected, as vinyl sales have increased significantly over the last two decades. Considering the fact that Satchivi was not even alive back then, it makes sense that it seems like a foreign concept.
Of course, Bialik didn’t really know how to react to that, adding an “alright” before moving on. Sometimes, that’s all you can do.
I just shriveled up into dust when Audrey said her collection of “obsolete things” included “records, CDs, and DVDs” #Jeopardy
Still, Satchivi ended up taking home $5,000 after Tuesday’s episode, which is equal to about 250 or so CDs, which will be a nice addition to her growing collection of obsolete items. Maybe she could consider adding Blu-Ray into the mix! Those might actually be retro in the coming years.
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