Category: Worldwide

Each week our staff of film and TV experts surveys the entertainment landscape to select the ten best new/newish movies available for you to stream at home. We put a lot of thought into our selections, and our debates on what to include and what not to include can sometimes get a little heated and feelings may get hurt, but so be it, this is an important service for you, our readers. With that said, here are our selections for this week.

10. (tie) Tick, Tick… Boom (Netflix)

Andrew Garfield is giving theater-kids everywhere a musical-thirst-trap performance in this Lin-Manuel Miranda-directed biopic that pays tribute to Jonathan Larson, the artistic genius who changed Broadway with his seminal musical Rent. This film examines Larson’s life before fans were belting out Season of Love though, with Garfield giving an award-worthy turn as a restless visionary who feels the suffocating deadline of turning 30 without having produced a great show. The supporting cast is terrific, Garfield is doing his best work, and Miranda infuses everything with a genuine sense of love and admiration that makes it hard not to root for this one. Watch it on Netflix.

10. (tie) Bruised (Netflix)

Halle Berry’s MMA movie made a deal with Netflix and now Halle Berry’s MMA movie is on Netflix. Yes, that sentence said “Halle Berry’s MMA movie twice but, to be fair, it’s a phrase it takes a little bit of time to wrap your head around. Berry makes her directorial debut and stars as a disgraced fighter named Jackie Justice (Jackie Justice!) who is back in the cage to deal with various personal demons. It’s Halle Berry’s MMA movie! The reviews are pretty good! Watch it on Netflix.

10. (tie) King Richard (HBO Max)

As odd as it is to have a movie about two of the greatest athletes of all time told centered on, not the women winning Grand Slams and Olympic gold medals, but their determined, driven father – King Richard works. It works because Will Smith exudes charisma and charm but he also brings a believable grit and weary defiance to the role of Richard Williams, the man who gave tennis not one, but two female legends. This is Serena and Venus’ story, told from the perspective of the man who believed in them when no one else did so, yeah, grab a box of tissues before you sit down to watch. Watch it on HBO Max.

10. (tie) The Power of the Dog (Netflix)

Benedict Cumberbatch gives a villainous performance for the ages in The Power of the Dog, the first film in 12 years from director Jane Campion. The western is expected (and deserves) to be an Oscars frontrunner, so hop on the horse-drawn bandwagon now. Watch it on Netflix.

9. Swan Song (Apple TV+)

Set in the near future, Swan Song stars two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali as a husband and father who’s dying from a terminal illness. To spare his family from unimaginable grief, he secretly agrees to undergo an experimental treatment where his memories will be transported into an exact healthy duplicate. Swan Song examines how far we’re willing to go to protect the ones we love. It’s science-fiction at its most melancholy. Watch it on Apple TV+.

8. Being the Ricardos (Amazon Prime)

Aaron Sorkin is back with a movie about I Love Lucy and its stars, with Nicole Kidman playing Lucille Ball, and a whole bunch of other stuff. You know what to expect here, probably, if you’ve seen a Sorkin movie or television show in the past. The dialogue will be snappy, the villains and heroes will be clearly defined, all of it. The important thing here is that we all agree that Lucille Ball was pretty impressive. Watch it on Amazon Prime.

7. South Park: Post-COVID: The Return of COVID (Paramount Plus)

It’s the follow-up to the first COVID special and things are still weird. There are experiments and mental asylum escapes and marijuana farming and pretty much everything you’ve come to expect from South Park at this stage of the game. There are worse ways to spend a few hours this weekend. Watch it on Paramount Plus.

6. Reno 911: The Hunt for Qanon (Paramount Plus)

This one is pretty straightforward: the delightfully incompetent police department from the long-running Comedy Central series is now, for some beautiful reason, on the hunt for the mysterious political conspiracy theorist Qanon, and their mission takes them from the desert of Nevada to, for other beautiful reasons, the open seas. Maybe straightforward wasn’t the right word. It’s probably best to avoid asking questions. Let’s just roll with it and be glad it exists. Watch it on Paramount Plus.

5. Don’t Look Up (Netflix)

Jennifer Lawrence is back in Don’t Look Up, Adam McKay’s apocalyptic satire about two low-level astronomers (J-Law and Leonardo DiCaprio) who try to warn everyone on Earth about an approaching comet — but no one seems to care. The ensemble cast also includes Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Ariana Grande, Timothée Chalamet, Cate Blanchett, and Tyler Perry. Maybe that’s why no one cares about the comet. They’re too busy looking at all those stars. Watch it on Netflix.

4. The Tender Bar (Amazon Prime)

What we have here: George Clooney directing Ben Affleck in a film adaptation of a best-selling memoir about a writer who learns a number of life lessons while working as a bartender. The star power here is undeniable and makes it worth at least a snoop at some point, but it does make us wish — at least a little bit — that Clooney and Affleck had teamed up to make a movie about two handsome guys in tuxedos who team up to steal… oh, let’s say the Liberty Bell. This is probably fine, too, though. Watch it on Amazon Prime.

3. The Matrix Resurrections (HBO Max)

The gang is all back. Mostly. They’re mostly all back. Keanu is there as Neo, with the John Wick beard. Carrie Ann Moss is back as Trinity even though Trinity kind of… died. It’s a whole thing. And it’s fun. This all could have gone a lot worse, really, which isn’t exactly the highest praise but is still important. Let’s do it all again in another 20 years. Let’s make it a thing. Watch it on HBO Max.

2. The Tragedy of Macbeth (Apple TV+)

The Tragedy of Macbeth is the first time Joel Coen has made a movie with no involvement from his brother, Ethan. But even without his sibling, this black-and-white adaptation of one of William Shakespeare’s bloodiest plays is typically excellent, with stellar performances from Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Corey Hawkins, Stephen Root, and Kathryn Hunter. Something wicked good this way comes… to streaming. Watch it on Apple TV+.

1. Encanto (Disney Plus)

The standout cut from the Encanto soundtrack, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” is the latest addition to the Maddeningly Catchy Disney Song canon, along with recent inductees “Let It Go” and “You’re Welcome.” (Lin-Manuel Miranda apparently knows a thing or two about songwriting, who knew?) The rest of the movie is fun, colorful, and teaches an important lesson about family and community, and you get to hear Rosa from Brooklyn Nine-Nine belt it out. But the best reason to watch Encanto is to learn firsthand why “Bruno” is one of the most popular songs in the country right now. Should you skip Encanto? Bruno-no-no-no. Watch it on Disney Plus.

After finding massive success as the duo Chloe x Halle with their sophomore album Ungodly Hour, the two sisters have started separating their careers a bit. Halle landed a lead role in the live action remake of The Little Mermaid while Chloe is using her first name as a moniker for her solo music and recently dropped the sultry track “Have Mercy.” And though Chloe is grateful she was able to kick off her music career with her sister by her side, the singer says there is one thing that “annoys” her about it.

Chloe recently sat down with In The Know for a cover interview where she spoke about her body image, self confidence, and music. When asked about what it was like to make music with her sister, Chloe said there were “no downsides,” but it was frustrating how the public would try to “pit them against each other” even though they didn’t see themselves that way:

“There were no downsides on our side. But I will tell you what annoys me a lot. I hate when people online constantly try to compare my sister and I. It is the most shallow, most disturbing thing. It was very off-putting to know how people would try to put two young Black sisters who love their craft so much and love each other so much, how they try to pit them against each other just because they’re different in some ways. So that’s the only downside.”

Elsewhere in the conversation, Chloe said that, now she’s making music on her own, she is learning how to speak up for herself more. “I think being with my sister, it’s easier to speak up,” she said. “But when it’s just you on your own, you feel like sometimes your voice is too quiet to respect or hear, so sometimes you tend to back down.”

Read Chloe’s full interview with In The Know here.

Grammy-winning producer Robert Glasper returns with a new single to announce the release date for his upcoming album, Black Radio III, which drops February 25 via Concord Loma Vista. The timing couldn’t be better, as 2022 marks the 10th anniversary of the original Black Radio album, which earned Glasper his first-ever Grammy for Best R&B Album. After sharing “Better Than I Imagined” featuring HER last year, Glasper follows up today with the video for “Black Superhero.”

Opening with a quote from culture critic Ta-Nehisi Coates and featuring verses from Killer Mike, BJ The Chicago Kid, and Big KRIT, “Black Superheroes” contemplates the everyday heroism of normal people creating a life in a nation where that’s not always the easiest thing to do. Despite the unwelcoming conditions of life in America for many Black Americans, whether they are barbers, politicians, teachers, or even just children, thriving is close enough to a superpower.

The video’s director, Charlie Buhler, offered this explanation in a press release: “‘Black Superhero’ is a visual love letter to the Black community. It’s an ode to our strength, vibrancy, and joy. We have struggled, and yet we are still here, and not only are we here, but we are so much more than the adversity heaped upon us. I am grateful to Robert and the team at Loma Vista for trusting me with such a powerful and important song, and everyone who came together to help bring the concept to life. It was a true labor of love.”

Watch Robert Glasper’s “Black Superhero” video above.

Black Radio III is due 2/25 via Concord Loma Vista. You can pre-order it here.

The New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks have kicked off the NBA’s trade season in a big way. According to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Hawks have finally found a suitor for third-year forward Cam Reddish, as the team will send him to the Big Apple in a trade that will net them a protected first-round draft pick.

Solomon Hill and a pick are also headed to New York, while Atlanta will also receive Kevin Knox.

The news was confirmed by Sarah Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.

As Wojnarowski pointed out, this trade sends Reddish to a team that will give the former Duke standout the opportunity to have an increased role as he looks for a contract extension this summer. Beyond reuniting with former Blue Devil R.J. Barrett, Reddish should give the Knicks some more punch on the perimeter, which they have lacked for stretches this season — Reddish has averaged 11.9 points in 23.4 minutes per game this season while connecting on 37.9 percent of his attempts from three, but has only started seven of the 34 games in which he’s appeared.

The news of the move comes less than 10 days after lead Hawks executive Travis Schlenk indicated some moves were on the horizon in the midst of the team’s disappointing campaign. Currently, the team is 17-23 on the year, which puts them in 12th place in the Eastern Conference and three games back of the final spot in the play-in tournament. The Knicks, meanwhile, are in 11th, but sit in a tie with Boston for the 10-seed.

As Ben Affleck continues to promote his role in the George Clooney-directed The Tender Bar, the actor has been getting candid about the pitfalls of fame, and now, he wants something in return. Namely, a discount on Aflac insurance. While sitting down for a Wired “Autocomplete Interview,” the outgoing Batman shared his frustration over the insurance company’s name being way too similar to his own and being repeatedly “shrieked” by Gilbert Gottfried.

“Now imagine that insurance company has a bottomless budget to buy television commercials,” Affleck said. “And now imagine that their creative choice is to hire a duck to shriek your last name in as loud and obnoxious a way as humanly possible for the duration of a television commercial.”

According to Affleck, the squawking duck commercials truly became the bane of his existence during a long flight to New York. Via The Wrap:

“And then imagine what it’s like when you’re on an airplane, and the hammered lady behind you recognizes you, and thinks she’s gonna do her best Gilbert Gottfried for six hours, all the way to New York,” Affleck continued, referencing the comedian with a distinctively abrasive voice. “Thank you, Aflac! I don’t own it! But I deserve it. I would like a discount.”

As for how the subject came up, one of the top Google searches for Affleck is whether or not he owns the insurance company, which he responded to with a sigh before launching into his tale of drunken wine ladies yelling his name at thirty thousand feet, and not in a good way.

(Via Wired, The Wrap)

Unless you’re Marlon Brando, a big part of being an actor is memorizing your lines. This is especially true for live entertainment, like Saturday Night Live, where you can tell when someone is using cue cards or not. On Wednesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, former-SNL cast member David Spade discussed how frequent-host Tom Hanks can still remember every word of his sketches, even one that didn’t make it to air.

“He really lights up, he remembers everything he did on there,” Spade said about Hanks. The Tommy Boy star then told a story about the first time he met the two-time Oscar winner, who pitched a sketch about subway surfing. “First of all, I have a legal pad,” he said. “We don’t have computers back then…. I knew how to write a couple of jokes. We wrote it all night, then we did it, and it bombed.” Spade continued:

“I remember being on the subway, surfing, and he was next to me. Our eyes connected. We were like, ‘It’s over, dude.’ We were two minutes into it and we had five more. I’m like, ‘Oh it’s bombing!’ We just did it wrong… He was the host, and he cut it.”

Later on, Spade and Hanks reminisced about the dud sketch, and “he remembered the song. He sang the whole song. He remembered the song. I couldn’t believe it.” Tom Hanks: pretty good actor! Who knew. You can watch the interview with Spade above.

Spoon is getting ready to drop a new album, Lucifer On The Sofa, which they teased a few days ago with “Wild.” The album comes out in about a month, and shortly after that, the band will embark on some North American tour dates, which they announced today.

They have a show at the Observatory in Santa Ana a few days before the album release, and then the tour really kicks off with some East Coast dates in early April before heading west between then and early June.

Check out Spoon’s upcoming tour dates below.

02/08 — Santa Ana, CA @ Observatory
04/06 — Boston, MA @ House of Blues #
04/08 — New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall #
04/09 — Richmond, VA @ The National #
04/11 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club #
04/15 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore #
04/16 — New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom #
04/18 — Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit #
04/19 — Chicago, IL @ The Riviera Theatre #
04/22 — St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre #
04/23 — Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave #
04/25 — Columbia, MO @ The Blue Note #
04/28 — Wilmington, NC @ Greenfield Lake Amphitheater #
04/29 — Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees Festival
05/24 — Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom *
05/25 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex *
05/27 — Napa, CA @ BottleRock
05/28 — Sacramento, CA @ Ace Of Spades *
05/29 — San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *
05/31 — Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up *
06/02 — Los Angeles, CA @ Palladium *
06/03 — Tucson, AZ @ The Rialto Theatre *
06/04 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren *

# with Margaret Glaspy
* with Geese

Lucifer On The Sofa is out 2/11 via Matador Records. Pre-order it here.

Nearly two months after the death of Memphis rapper Young Dolph, the late rapper’s fiancee Mia Jaye granted her first interview with ABC News Live Prime to talk about the effects his death has had on her and their family. Dolph and Mia have two children together, and Dolph often said that he wanted to retire from rap to spend more time with them. Mia explained how important the kids were to him in the interview.

“It’s been extremely difficult, just having to pick up the pieces and to find the strength for my children,” she said. That is the one thing: Adolph and myself felt we had a duty to them. To protect them, to raise them, to just do so much for them, and together. Now that he’s no longer here, it’s just very tough for me to be strong for them and also be strong for myself because Adolph was my soulmate when I say they stole my future, it has taken a long time to iron out the kinks.”

Dolph was shot to death outside a Memphis bakery while buying cookies. Police have made two arrests and indicted three suspects so far. A street in Memphis was renamed for the late rapper, nodding to his importance to his hometown, while collaborators like Gucci Mane and his own Paper Route Empire label have also paid musical tribute.

You can watch Mia Jaye’s interview above.

Since 2010, only six videos have been recognized as YouTube’s most-viewed video. Of the six, five were music videos from pop stars: “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga, “Baby” by Justin Bieber, “Gangnam Style” by PSY, “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa, and “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi, which held the title for 1,186 days. But in November 2020, the maddeningly catchy “Baby Shark Dance” surpassed “Despacito” to become YouTube’s most-viewed video — easily the most important thing to happen in November 2020.

“Baby Shark” has also became the first video to hit 10 billion views. Via a press release:

The Pinkfong Company, creator of Baby Shark, announced that its iconic “Baby Shark Dance” music video has officially become the world’s first video ever to hit 10 billion views on YouTube, making it the most viewed video in YouTube history, as of January 13th, 2022. The video was released in June 2016. Since surpassing “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee in November 2020, “Baby Shark Dance” has reigned as the most-viewed video on YouTube for 15 consecutive months.

“Despacito” has 7.7 billion views, meaning “Baby Shark Dance” is now 2.3 billion views ahead of second place. For comparison’s sake, the gap between “Baby Shark Dance” and “Despacito” is basically the same as the total number of views for Bieber’s “Baby,” which was YouTube’s most-viewed video for over 800 days.

That goddamn shark is inescapable, as every parent knows all too well.

Let’s get this obligatory line out of the way first: love is dead.

From there, we can reflect upon the surprising news that See and Aquaman star Jason Momoa and A Different World and Mustang-lover Lisa Bonet called it quits. They’ve been together for about sixteen years, married for five years, and share two children; and yep the marriage has run its course.

Momoa announced the parting of their ways on Instagram, where he explained that “We have all felt the squeeze and changes of these transformational times.” He added, “We share this not because we think it’s newsworthy ~ But so that~ as we go about our lives we may do so with dignity and honesty.” Further, he declared that “We free each other.”

All of this is happening amid pandemic conditions, although that doesn’t appear to have slowed down the career front for Momoa. Rather, he’s moved from losing his mind in “gnarly” quarantine before going “blonde” for Aquaman 2. It happens!

Whatever the cause of the split, people are shocked to hear the news. Reactions are mixed, but the news has made some people emotional… and yes, it’s also a “huge blow for hot people.”

Some people are looking on the bright side and seeing this as a tiny shred of “hope” amid the ongoing 2022 mess.

Then there are important questions to discuss, like who gets custody of “hotness” and Lisa’s other ex, Lenny Kravitz.

RIP to both Jason and Lisa’s DMs, and good luck to them both.

And think of poor Pete Davidson! The dude has a new dilemma in life.