Of the properties Disney has acquired over the years, the most violent isn’t Marvel Studios or Lucasfilm, it’s Muppets Studio, home of the Muppets. Kylo Ren might have blown up a planet, but you don’t see the carnage. In Muppets Now, the first new Muppets series since ABC’s fortunately short-lived The Muppets, you see the mop-puppets (and occasional human) being punched, karate chopped, sling-shotted, devoured, and in one twisted segment, set fire to an Alexa-like device. The only thing missing in the four episodes screened for critics is a fish boomerang, and I’m sure that’s coming. It’s time to raise the curtain, because the Muppets, in their silly glory, are back.
This wasn’t a given, as my hopes weren’t high on Muppets Now. The “unscripted” teasers looked sweaty, in a “how do you do, fellow kids?” kind of way, and I’m still not sold on Joe the Legal Weasel. But the series is a welcome, if occasionally uneven, throwback to the Muppets’ variety show roots. Whereas The Muppet Show (still the best Muppets project, over The Muppet Movie and holiday classic The Muppets Christmas Carol) was a loving riff on The Ed Sullivan Show, Muppets Now finds inspiration from YouTube and reality TV, with the characters presenting individual segments — Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker test MythBusters-approved experiments for Muppet Labs; Miss Piggy sits down with celebrities like Taye Diggs and Linda Cardellini in her Uncle Deadly-assisted Lifesty (or is it Lifestyle?) web series; and Pepe the King Prawn hosts a game show that even Chunky would find chaotic. In some ways, Muppets Now reminds me of a kid-friendly I Think You Should Leave, and now I would like to see Tim Robinson play Fozzie Bear in a live-action Muppets movie. Thank you in advance.
(A brief aside: much has made about the new voice of Kermit, and yeah, even after multiple episodes, I never got used to it. That’s not a knock on Matt Vogel, a talented puppeteer; it’s just hard to hear anyone but Jim Henson or Steve Whitmire doing the voice. Eric Jacobson and Dave Goelz continue to do a fine job, however, as Fozzie/Miss Piggy/Animal and Gonzo, while Julianne Buescher is a nice addition as Beverly Plume.)
Every episode begins the same way, with an over-worked and under-appreciated Scooter scrambling to edit together the whims of his various fellow Muppets into something resembling a concise episode of TV. It’s hit or miss, both for poor Scooter (who also must deal with Zoom-triggering video calls from Fozzie, pitching a pun-heavy stream of concepts) and us viewers. Some segments work far better than others (the Pepe and Swedish Chef ones are personal favorites), but the structure unfortunately doesn’t allow for much interaction between the Muppets. It’s also curious that with so many characters to play with, the show repeats the same handful of sketches.
There’s a lot of promise here, and Muppets Now is already the best Muppets show in decades as is (I stand by Muppets Tonight being an underrated entry in the Muppets canon), but there’s a nagging sense that it could be better by adding 10 percent more chaos. Chaos is what the Muppets do best. Especially explosion-based chaos. But ultimately, if you’re tickled by the idea of the Swedish Chef wrapping an actual mole in a burrito and slathering the little guy with sour cream, while Danny Trejo makes mole sauce to impress a horny turkey named Beverly Plume, you will enjoy Muppets Now.
‘Muppets Now’ begins streaming via Disney+ on Friday, July 31.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show has always given off warm and fuzzy vibes, thanks to a host so friendly she has, well, some questionable friends. But recent reports have poked holes in that façade. A BuzzFeed piece discovered alleged racism and intimidation behind-the-scenes; Variety claimed longtime crew were mistreated as the show reformatted due to the pandemic. On Monday WarnerMedia began an in-house investigation into these claims, and on Thursday, as per Variety, DeGeneres herself broke her silence on the matter, apologizing to her staff.
“On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that The Ellen DeGeneres Show would be a place of happiness — no one would ever raise their voice, and everyone would be treated with respect,” DeGeneres wrote in a statement aimed at her staff. “Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case. And for that I am sorry.”
She continued:
“I could not have the success I’ve had without all of your contributions. My name is on the show and everything we do and I take responsibility for that. Alongside Warner Bros, we immediately began an internal investigation and we are taking steps, together, to correct the issues. As we’ve grown exponentially, I’ve not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I’d want them done. Clearly some didn’t. That will now change and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again.”
DeGeneres claimed that this she learned that “people who work with me and for me are speaking on my behalf and misrepresenting who I am and that has to stop.” She added, “As someone who was judged and nearly lost everything for just being who I am, I truly understand and have deep compassion for those being looked at differently, or treated unfairly, not equal, or – worse – disregarded. To think that any one of you felt that way is awful to me.”
The daytime TV host vowed “to do my part in continuing to push myself and everyone around me to learn and grow,” adding, “It’s important to me and to Warner Bros. that everyone who has something to say can speak up and feels safe doing so.”
In the three days since the internal investigations were made public, there’s already been one major decision made: Executive producer Ed Glavin, one of the people mentioned in allegations of racism, is exiting his role immediately. It’s not yet clear if more heads will roll.
This was part of a planned demonstration of protest by the players, coaches, and referees, as they have been vocal for months that when the league restarts they need to use that platform to continue keeping messaging on the issues of systemic racism and social justice. While it was generally assumed this would be the case, NBA commissioner Adam Silver issued a statement on Thursday evening that the league would not be enforcing its rule that states players must stand for the anthem, noting the circumstances and the need to adapt to the current moment.
NBA Commisioner Adam Silver: “I respect our teams’ unified act of peaceful protest for social justice and under these unique circumstances will not enforce our long-standing rule requiring standing during the playing of our national anthem.”
It is the right decision and, really, the only decision for the league to make, given that every player participated in the kneeling as well as coaches and referees — and it is expected that other teams will do the same as the bubble progresses. Handing out fines for that in this current moment would be exceptionally tone deaf and given the league has been active in working with the players association on ways they can keep advancing their social justice efforts, it’s unsurprising that they made this call.
Billie Eilish shared her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, in early 2019 and since then her career has been on the up-and-up. The album was met with widespread acclaim and would go on to sweep the big four categories at the 2020 Grammy Awards. It even broke streaming and chart records with “Bad Guy,” the album’s most successful single, becoming the world’s best-selling single of 2019. It looks like another album may be en route, as Billie Eilish has returned with her latest single, “My Future.”
Eilish first announced the single late last week, news that was met with excitement from her fans. The track is the singer’s second release of 2020, following winter’s “No Time To Die,” a track that was to appear in the new James Bond film, No Time to Die, which was due for release in April but was bumped to November after the pandemic took over the nation. “My Future” also follows a short film she released titled “Not My Responsibility,” which was aimed at body shamers.
Aside from the music, Eilish has been very vocal on social issues. After pointing out a double standard in music that wrongfully categorized Black and White artists, Eilish would go on to join Lizzo, Rihanna, and others to sign an open letter to congress on police reform. The singer also unfollowed everyone on Instagram after promising to unfollow “abusers” on the social media app.
Hulu’s come a long way. What began as just a way to watch cable TV without actually paying premium prices for the cord has morphed into a platform with an impressive streaming catalog — a one-stop shop for prestige originals, blockbusters, classic comedy series, and so much more. There’s a lot to love on Hulu, but its movie lineup is one of its strongest features. We don’t really need to do much more in the way of hyping it up, so we’ll just let you scroll through our picks for the best films on Hulu and leave you with this warning: your watchlist is going to get full real quick.
It’s hard to quantify a film as stylishly inventive and socially aware as Bong Joon Ho’s comedic thriller. There’s a reason this film won so many Oscars. It flits between instilling empathy for a family struggling to crawl out of poverty by increasingly deceptive means and the clueless elite whose house they eventually infiltrate. Bolstered by some terrific performances and a gripping script, the less said about the story, it’s twists and unexpected turns, the better. Just do yourself a favor and watch it.
There are prestige dramas and, then there’s The Shawshank Redemption, a thrilling crime saga that set the bar in terms of storytelling. Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins play convicts who bond during their stints in Shawshank prison. Robbins plays banker Andy Dufresne who’s convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. He befriends Red (Freeman) an old-timer who protects him from other gangs while Andy begins helping the prison’s warden launder money. Eventually, Andy decides to break out of prison, and what results is one of the more exciting escape stories we’ve seen on screen.
Barry Jenkins follows up the success of Moonlight with this adaptation of a James Baldwin masterpiece. Told in a nonlinear style, the film recounts the romance of Tish and Fonny, two young Black lovers living in 1970s New York. When Fonny is accused of a heinous crime, Tish and her family fight to prove his innocence. The story is heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time, and Regina King puts in an Oscar-winning performance as Tish’s devoted mother.
This Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning documentary tells the unbelievably inspiring story of Hatidze, a bee-hunter in North Macedonia who represents a dying breed of ecological custodians. Hatidze and her ailing mother live on a remote mountain range, where she peacefully coexists with the bees whose honey is her livelihood, but when new neighbors arrive to disrupt this fragile harmony, Hatidze must fight for her simple way of life. It’s a moving, intimate portrait of an inspiring woman, and a larger commentary on how our greed and ignorance can irreparably damage our surroundings.
As flashy and over-the-top as the sequin-spandex numbers that graced the ice back in the ’80s, I, Tonya manages to straddle a thin line. It’s both a biopic of one of the most notorious female athletes in the history of figure skating and a raucous comedy intent on mocking everything troubling about American culture at the time. Margot Robbie is brilliant in her role — playing a woman tortured by talent and her inability to capitalize on it — and you can literally hear Allison Janney chewing every scene she’s in as Harding’s narcissistic, chain-smoking mother. Plus that parrot bite is as funny as you could hope.
Terrible breakups are a universal experience and Jason Segel manages to tap into the deep yet hilarious insecurity that plagues us all in the aftermath. When he’s dumped by his movie star girlfriend, Peter goes on a vacation (and mild stalking) to forget his sorrows (and also cry a lot). Along the way, he discovers a little self-worth, a new lease on life, and love, because even with the gross-out humor, this is still a romantic comedy. A hilarious cameo from Paul Rudd and a scene-stealing turn from Russell Brand make this a romcom that will pass even the pickiest viewer’s test for the perfect lazy Sunday movie.
Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut is this coming-of-age ode to friendship starring Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever. Feldstein plays Molly, a politically ambitious high schooler, who resolves to have one night of teenage fun before graduation. She ropes her best friend Amy (Dever) into her plan, and the two navigate a host of wild mishaps to make it to the biggest party of the year. It’s fun and heartfelt and a surprisingly confident first take from Wilde.
There are forbidden love affairs and then there’s this epic romance from French filmmaker Celine Sciamma. Filled with sexual tension and secret rendevous, this period piece centers on a young painter named Marianne who lives on the island of Brittany and is commissioned to complete a portrait of an aristocratic noblewoman named Heloise before she’s set to be wed. The two women form an intimate bond, one that tests their sense of self and their willingness to sacrifice for love.
Boots Riley’s directorial debut comes courtesy of this dark, absurdist comedy that manages to weave themes of class and capitalism into a bonkers tale about a telemarketer living in Oakland who figures out a way to use his “white voice” to make sales. As he moves up the ladder, selling while hiding his identity, he’s pulled into a conspiracy that forces him to choose between cashing in at humanity’s expense or joining his friends in a rebellion against the system. Lakeith Stanfield gives a riveting turn as Cassius Green, Cash, the kid at the center of this bizarre story, and Tessa Thompson gives a commendable performance as Cash’s radical feminist girlfriend, Detroit.
Adam McKay’s controversial biopic lands on Hulu with its impressive cast of Oscar-winners including Christian Bale, who undergoes a mind-blowing transformation to play former Vice President Dick Cheney. The film follows the build-up to Cheney’s White House appointment, as he gains power first as a Washington insider, then as the man pulling the strings of the Bush administrations. Amy Adams plays his supportive, just as morally compromised wife, Lynne, with Sam Rockwell turning in a hilarious performance as Bush himself.
Viggo Mortensen and Kathryn Han star in this feel-good drama about an unconventional family’s attempts to stay together despite outside forces closing in on their way of life. Mortensen plays Ben, the father to six children all living in a remote, wooded area. The kids keep a strict schedule, learning on their own, surviving in the wild, eschewing traditional schooling and activities for Ben’s regimen, which pushes them to think for themselves and find their own purpose. When Ben and the kids are forced to leave their utopia and interact with estranged family members in the real world, his teachings and their way of life is challenged in surprising ways.
Set during the touring years of The Beatles’ career, from 1962-1966, director Ron Howard crafts an intimate portrayal of the world’s most popular band with the help of both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with widows Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison. Featuring 4K restorations of some of the band’s most memorable concerts, this documentary is a must for any film lover, Beatles fan or otherwise.
John Krasinski’s breakout horror flick has made its way to Hulu. The film stars Krasinski and his wife, Emily Blunt, as a couple trying their best to raise their family in the middle of an apocalypse where the slightest sound might attract other-worldly creatures intent on hunting them down and killing them. It’s a thrilling turn for both actors, with twists you don’t see coming and a satisfying ending.
Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, and Tessa Thompson return for round two of this boxing drama reboot. Still training with Rocky Balboa, Adonis Creed (Jordan) tries to bounce back after a dangerous beatdown, resolving to face off against the son of Viktor Drago, the man who killed his father. The film’s tension is heightened, the hits more violent, and Jordan is as confident as ever in his leading man status.
Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis star in this women-on-the-run tale of revenge and the chase for freedom. Davis plays Thelma, a ditzy housewife who’s nearly raped in the parking lot of a roadside bar, and Sarandon plays Louise, her sharp-tongued best friend who shoots the would-be rapist dead before the pair flee cross country. Trying to avoid capture by the police even while committing petty crimes to drum up the cash needed for a border run to Mexico, the real thrill of this cat-and-mouse game is in watching these two women go to the mat for each other. It’s feminist art that inspired plenty of movies in the years that followed.
Australian director Jennifer Kent follows up her surprise success, The Babadook, with another dark tale, this time one that follows a young woman on a path of revenge. Aisling Franciosi plays Claire, an Irish convict sent to Tasmania in 1825 who chases a British officer (Sam Claflin) through the wilderness intent on making him pay for the crimes he committed against her and her family. Along the way, she recruits help from an aboriginal tracker and the two navigate racial tensions and prejudice on their quest. Franciosi is magnetic as Claire, a woman who refuses to let the horrible abuses she’s suffered break her and Claflin seems to delight in playing the villain of this story.
Merging high art and science fiction, director Lars Von Trier found inspiration for his story after suffering a depressive episode. Focused on two sisters with a strained relationship, they must now face the reality of a rogue planet set to collide with Earth. It premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where Kristen Dunst was given the Best Actress Award, and the following year the British Film Institute named it one of the greatest films of all time — a rare honor for any film made in the 21st century.
Helping to close out a decade of memorable teen films on a dark note, Heathers is a savagely funny deconstruction of the frivolousness of popular cliques that helped set the tone of many dark comedies that would follow in its wake. The plot involves a popular group of girls known as The Heathers who invite Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) to join them, guaranteeing that she would gain popularity by association. Eventually, Veronica finds herself teaming up with a dangerous sociopath (Christian Slater) in an attempt to break the Heathers’ tyrannical hold on the school.
Loosely based on the ground-breaking manga of the same name, Akira is considered a landmark in Japanese animation, as well as one of the best animated films ever produced. Set in a dystopian future in 2019, a teenager named Tetsuo gains tremendous telekinetic powers after a motorcycle crash, eventually going mad with power before bringing the military-industrial complex to its knees. A live action adaptation has been in the works in some form since 2002, but remains in development purgatory for the time being.
Eva Khatchadourian (Tilda Swinton), who’s unwilling and unable to properly care for her troubled son Kevin, watches her life unravel as her husband (John C. Reilly) ignores their problems and Kevin grows more and more sociopathic and violent. The story jumps around in time, showing Swinton’s character as both a new mother who blames her son for ruining her life and as a woman who eventually blames herself for what becomes of her son. Swinton proves once again that she’s the actress that indie movies need for complex characters that live their lives in grey areas. At its core, We Need To Talk is about the importance of proper parenting, communication, and probably therapy. And it’s not for the faint of heart.
Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, and Oprah Winfrey star in this Steven Spielberg classic that somehow, feels even more relevant some 35 years later. The film, based on Alice Walker’s iconic tale, follows Celie (Goldberg), a young African American woman who suffers decades of torture and abuse from the people closest to her. Celie’s not the only Black woman to endure hardship – her sister, her daughter-in-law, and her husband’s mistress do too – but the inspiring bit is how each woman finds strength in themselves through their relationships with each other.
Tom Cruise is joined by Superman himself, Henry Cavill in this latest installment in the action franchise. Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt who leads his IMF team but is joined by Cavill’s CIA Agent, August Walker, who’s tasked with monitoring the group after a mission gone wrong. Hunt is tracking some missing plutonium before a terrorist group called The Apostles can weaponize it against the world but he’s thwarted by a surprising enemy.
The war of the Fyre docs kicked off earlier this year with Hulu releasing their surprise flick just days before Netflix’s planned exposé. Both films rehash the same basic plot: a young entrepreneur scams thousands of millennials and investors out of millions of dollars, but Hulu’s movie takes a closer look the aftermath and damage caused by Billy McFarland and Ja Rule, in addition to interviews and close looks at the events of the Fyre Festival disaster with a critical eye.
Nobody puts this movie in the corner … or leaves it off a binge-watching guide. A romantic drama starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, this film has become part of the cultural lexicon. It’s got drama, dancing, and some surprisingly deep commentary on controversial issues – remember that abortion subplot? Of course, the most memorable part of this film is Swayze’s portrayal of a bad boy dance instructor working at a resort for the one-percenters during the summer, and his love story with Grey’s Baby, a young woman ready to strike out on her own. Everything else is just a bonus.
Pen15‘s Maya Erskine and ‘ Jack Quaid star in this modern rom-com about a pair of friends, who agree to suffer a summer of wedding invites together. Alice and Ben have been pals since college, but when their mutuals start getting hitched, and they’re left without dates to the happy nuptials, they make a pact to be each others’ “plus one.” What begins as a chance to score free booze and food quickly spirals into a neverending series of interactions that remind them how lonely they both are and force them to confront their hidden attraction.
A charming, unconventional story about what it means to be a family, Hunt for the Wilderpeople follows a juvenile delinquent named Ricky (Julian Dennison), who is adopted by a couple living on a farm in a remote region of New Zealand. After Ricky fakes his suicide and escapes into the bush, his (reluctantly) adopted father Hec (Sam Neill) goes looking for him, and after a series of mishaps, the two are forced to survive in the woods together for months. It was released during SXSW in 2016 (you can read our review here), and after rave reviews from critics the world over, it’s gone on to become the highest-grossing film in New Zealand history.
Before the Tina Feys, Amy Poehlers, and Maya Rudolphs of the world made Saturday Night Live a female-led powerhouse, comedian Gilda Radner starred on the sketch comedy series. She’s an icon, an absolute legend in the world of stand-up, and she played her bigger-than-life characters on the show with a kind of quirky abandon that made you laugh at them and care for them all at once. This doc looks back at her career, her struggles in an industry that wasn’t always accepting of her gender, and her brushes with more serious issues, like illness and eating disorders. Despite those serious topics, it’s a breezy, feel-good watch for comedy lovers of every generation.
Coherence is one of those low-budget sci-fi stories that is extremely tough to explain without either giving too much away or requiring an extended entry. Essentially, a group of friends sifts through their own issues and insecurities during a mind-bending paradoxical experience. Taking place almost entirely in the same room on a single night, the characters struggle to find answers just as much as the viewer. It’s a challenging yet enthralling film, perfect for those who love to overthink things.
This highly-anticipated comedy from SNL alumn and Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Andy Samberg feels like a spiritual successor to a Bill Murray classic, a millennial Groundhog’s Day except this story is set in the sunny world of Palm Springs. Samberg’s Nyles meets Sarah (Cristin Milioti) at a wedding, and the two are pulled through a weird portal that causes them to repeat the same day, over, and over again. Honestly, it’s the perfect quarantine watch.
A decidedly unusual twist on the giant monster movie, Nacho Vigolando’s Colossal follows Gloria (Anne Hathaway), an unemployed writer who moves back to her hometown after her boyfriend Tim (Dan Stevens) breaks up with her. After moving into her childhood home, Gloria’s heavy drinking starts to take a toll on her before she starts to realize that she may have a significant connection with a towering monster that spontaneously appears over Seoul, South Korea.
The NBA has been in the Orlando bubble for weeks now, but Thursday night was when the restart began in earnest as the seeding round began with a doubleheader on TNT. The Jazz and Pelicans tipped things off, with a Lakers-Clippers tilt serving as the nightcap, and before the games began, Inside The NBA set the table with a 90-minute pregame show that went far beyond the court to discuss the Black Lives Matter movement, the push for racial equality from the league and its players, and ending police brutality and systemic racism.
Prior to the game and prior to the first demonstration from players, TNT ran an intro video narrated by Meek Mill — who is vocal about criminal justice reform after his time in jail for a probation violation sparked a national conversation — speaking from center court in Philadelphia, discussing the need for social justice reform, the pandemic, and much more in a powerful video.
.@MeekMill delivers a powerful message for The Return.
The entire handling of the night by TNT was impressive, not only not shying away from the discussion but actively keeping it at the forefront, which is something the players have been consistent in asking for from the league in its restart. After the Meek Mill video, players gathered on the sideline by the benches and all kneeled together above the Black Lives Matter that is printed on the court during the national anthem, issuing a statement of solidarity and protest.
A pair of things have been top of mind leading up to the NBA’s restart on Thursday evening. For one, the league is putting this on during a pandemic, and as a result, it has organized a gigantic bubble in Orlando that includes frequent testing and a collection of protocols that are designed to keep everyone safe.
The other has been a commitment to social justice. This has long been at the forefront of the dialogue around basketball due to NBA and WNBA players using their platforms to push for a better tomorrow, but it has been even more prominent in recent months due to the killings of Black individuals like Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor. Much has been made of how the NBA and its players would respond, and while we’ve seen some examples of this — social justice messages across the backs of uniforms, Black Lives Matter written on the court at Disney, major financial pledges, etc. — all eyes were on how players would use the platform they had on Thursday evening to make a statement.
There had been rumblings that something was in the cards for the opener between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Utah Jazz, and prior to that game’s tip, everyone involved in the game wore a Black Lives Matter shirt and took a knee while a pre-recorded version of the national anthem by Jon Batiste played. The players, in many instances, held hands or locked arms with their heads down, and were joined by the evening’s referees in a show of solidarity. In the middle of demonstration were head coaches Alvin Gentry and Quin Snyder locking arms with one another.
Pelicans & Jazz kneel together during National Anthem before NBA Bubble opener pic.twitter.com/kDttXEKI7o
While the NBA has a rule on its books saying players must stand during the anthem, it is hard to imagine a scenario where the league uses it here, in large part because it would (correctly, to be clear) come off as tone deaf following a peaceful demonstration. There is no word on whether a similar demonstration is in the cards for the second game of the evening, which is a tilt between the Clippers and the Lakers.
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were two of the first famous people to test positive for — and, luckily, recover from — the coronavirus that has dramatically transformed our world over the last five months. Now another beloved actor has revealed that he, too, caught COVID-19: As caught by Deadline, no less than Bryan Cranston took to Instagram to tell the world two things: 1) that he survived a mild bout with the virus and 2) everyone really needs to wear a “damn mask.”
In a video attached to the post, the Breaking Bad alum says (while wearing a mask) that he had COVID “a little while ago.” He had what he said were “very mild symptoms,” and since he came out the other side, he’s decided to donate his antibodies-ridden plasma to UCLA’s Blood & Plasma Center. We then see him doing just that. There’s also a part where he kills time by watching TCM, which is showing A Face in the Crowd, the 1957 classic that has been regularly cited as predicting the rise of a certain sitting president.
Accompanying the video was the following text:
Hi. About now you’re probably feeling a little tied down, restricting your mobility and like me, you’re tired of this!! Well, I just want to encourage you to have a little more patience. I was pretty strict in adhering to the protocols and still… I contracted the virus. Yep. it sounds daunting now that over 150,000 Americans are dead because of it. I was one of the lucky ones. Mild symptoms. I count my blessings and urge you to keep wearing the damn mask, keep washing your hands, and stay socially distant. We can prevail – but ONLY if we follow the rules together. Be well – Stay well. BC
The video also encourages those who have antibodies to do what Cranston did and donate your plasma to science. It concludes with onscreen text that reads, “Don’t forget to wash your hands, social distance and wear a mask!” Seriously.
NLE Choppa calls in some heavy duty backup on his latest single, “Narrow Road,” as he prepares to make his major label debut with Top Shotta later this year.
Bringing Atlanta trap star Lil Baby, the Memphis native asserts his realness with measured flow over a hard-driving beat by Quay Global. Where Choppa is normally all energy, chattering through his verses like the automatic weapons from which he borrows his stage name, here the teen slows way down to make sure that every word of every bar is felt. For his part, Lil Baby delivers to his usual standard, offering a ruminative verse in his trademark, singsong flow, lamenting how despite the success — or perhaps because of it — “everywhere I go somebody throws me on they camera.”
Apparently, NLE Choppa’s label is betting big on the young, emerging talent; earlier this week, Baby tweeted that he would be offended by anyone offering less than $100,000 per feature. While it seems that he’s more than willing to set his pride aside judging from the sheer volume of features he’s clocked this year — including new R&B singer Mariah The Scientist’s “Always N Forever” which dropped today — his contributions would certainly be worth the asking price, considering how much attention he draws.
Choppa, who previously released the song “Ruff Rydas” from the upcoming Road To Fast 9 mixtape and paid homage to Lil Baby with his own take on “Emotionally Scarred” titled “Different Day,” is certainly doing his best to earn that attention. We’ll see whether it translates to his debut a successful debut for Top Shotta later this year.
Listen to NLE Choppa’s “Narrow Road” featuring Lil Baby above.
NLE Choppa is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
We’re living in weird times. So if the news that mysterious seeds from China have shown up unsolicited in mailboxes in all 50 states and Canada freaks you out and fills your head with paranoia, we recognize that… but you need to chill. This likely isn’t a huge conspiracy that will destroy American life as we know it (as if we need help with that). Still, that doesn’t mean if a mysterious package filled with seeds arrives unsolicited at your doorstep you should plant them.
The packages — showing up across the nation — are currently being investigated by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection, who confirm that the packages were marked with labeling from the China Post, the official postal service of China. According to CNN, some of the labels on the packages indicated that they contained jewelry but instead they’re filled with packets of seeds in clear plastic with little labeling.
Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry has claimed that the China Post address labels were forged and has asked the USPS to send the packages to China for further investigation.
If you receive an unsolicited shipment of foreign seeds in the mail from China or Taiwan DO NOT plant or dispose of them. Call the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) at 519 691-1306 or 1 800 442-2342. Unsolicited seeds could be invasive & threaten our environment. ^kj pic.twitter.com/n5hvlFS1W8
While officials are still investigating who exactly is behind the packages (and what type of seeds they are), the USDA believes the packages are most likely part of what is known as a “brushing scam” — a review-fixing scam that some third-party sellers use to falsely boost their customer ratings on platforms like eBay, Amazon, and Etsy.
“At this time, we don’t have any evidence indicating this is something other than a ‘brushing scam,’” the USDA announced in a statement released Tuesday. The idea is that sellers use the names and addresses of random customers, send them random (valueless) goods, and write glowing reviews on their behalf. For what it’s worth, it’s not a new technique.
“When people get a package they didn’t order, that’s one of the first things we suspect” Katherine Hutt, chief communications officer for the Better Business Bureau told CNN.
So why seeds?
The most likely reason is that they’re incredibly lightweight, which allows the scammers to save on postage costs. According to a study published by Ecology and Evolution and hosted at the US National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health, the average seed weight of Potamogeton pectinatus, a submerged plant found in the arid zone of northwest China, is just 0.24 grams per 100 seeds. Comparatively, data collected by Hazera Seeds shows that 400 Cherry Tomato seeds and 150 Pepper Seeds equal out to one gram.
That’s not to say the seeds showing up in random mailboxes throughout America are Potamogeton pectinatus, Cherry Tomato seeds, or Pepper seeds — again no one knows what the seeds are just yet — but seeds generally weigh much less than most mail-able goods. Thereby making them cheaper and the scam more cost-efficient.
In the event that you become the recipient of unsolicited seeds, you should keep the packaging intact and contact your state plant regulatory official or APHIS state plant health director. According to CNN, being the target of a brushing scam does not necessarily mean your personal information has been stolen, but it’s not a bad idea to check your bank accounts and credit statements in the event fraudulent purchases were made on your behalf.
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