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Every single week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.

TIE: 10. What If…? (Disney+ series)

It’s no secret that the live-action MCU has been ailing in 2023, but this alternate-reality series is still bringing the geek-fire. The show does so by tossing fan-favorite characters into various would-never-happen scenarios that perhaps should happen, considering that the viewership enjoys them more than the overly complicated superhero movies of late. Recently, this show has been going in hard on Captain Carter and Loki/Thor while asking how things would have gone if the Avengers had come together centuries ago. What results is truly the spirit of silliness (Salty Thor!) that Marvel could stand to harness again. Remember when Ant-Man was funny? Yeah.

TIE: 10. Leave The World Behind (Netflix movie)

This movie doesn’t promise to leave you fulfilled and feeling like the ending makes sense, but when you play Mad Libs with A-listers in streaming movies, at least that isn’t the worst possible result. Sam Esmail helms this ditty alongside executive producers Barack and Michelle Obama, and Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, and Ethan Hawke co-star in an apparently apocalyptic tale like no other. This film ends up being a messy meditation about the effects of ailing technology upon humanity (and deer). And man, we are in trouble if a scenario like this begins to unfold in real life.

9. Thanksgiving (Sony Pictures Releasing film on VOD & Amazon Prime)

Eli Roth used to be terrified of sharks, but now that he has conquered that fear, the Cabin Fever director decided that it was time to turn his infamous Grindhouse trailer into a feature film. Fifteen years appears to be the right amount of time to have waited, too, because a sequel shall be on the way. So, if you didn’t catch this film in theaters, you can now sit in your own living room and watch Patrick Dempsey attempt to save his Massachusetts community from a psychotic, masked pilgrim. Fun!

8. The Holdovers (Focus Features film streaming on Peacock)

This movie might be slightly more fam-friendly than others on this list if you’re looking for something to watch on NYE afternoon before the partying begins. The Descendants and Election director Alexander Payne reteamed with Sideways star Paul Giamatti, who portrays a misanthropic, boozy teacher that spends his winter break on campus with a group who is also stuck there for various reasons. What transpires is a story where difficult conversations take unexpected turns and friendship ends up reigning supreme.

7. Beef (A24 series streaming on Netflix)

Yes, this scathing dark comedy is back on the streaming charts. Chalk that up to people catching up on recommendations during the lazy holiday stretch where you can take a trip to somewhere that you’d never want to visit in real life. That would be Road Rage Central as embodied by Ali Wong and Steven Yeun setting out to destroy each other’s lives after one near collision and a flip of the bird sets mutual insanity into motion. The show is, at times, as stressful as the subject matter would suggest, but the end results defy expectations, so hop on to this adrenaline-fueled ride share and breathe a sigh of relief that you are not currently behind the wheel.

6. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (Lionsgate film streaming on VOD & Amazon Prime)

The odds are very seldom in anyone’s favor in this franchise, but this prequel movie heads back to the earlier days of Panem when Coriolanis Snow actually wasn’t such a terrible guy. Here, he connects with District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird, whose run as tribute came long before Peeta Mallard was the boy with the bread and Katniss Evergreen volunteered to save her sister’s life. Lucy’s defiant song makes her a girl on fire, too, but there are snakes to be found in The Capitol’s games, of course.

5. Slow Horses (Apple TV+ series)

Gary Oldman is having a blast as a cantankerous spymaster who’s leading a bunch of f*ck up underlings who have been relegated to the Slough Horses beat. Mick Herronthe’s book series keeps coming to life while taking the veneer off the British intelligence business, and watching Oldman eating noodles and ice cream is only one of the fart-filled delights of this show.

4. Percy Jackson And The Olympians (Disney+ series)

The general consensus so far with this series is that Rick Riordan’s bestselling novels are finally receiving the adaptation that they deserve. Even former Percy actor Logan Lerman was blown away by this series and by newfound Percy actor Walker Scobell. Riordan is likewise thrilled, so here’s to hoping that this effort goes further than the two films of yesteryear.

3. Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child Of Fire (Netflix movie)

Zack Snyder really wanted to make a Star Wars movie, and for multiple reasons, Rebel Moon now emerges instead. Naturally, there will be a director’s cut on the way in addition to a second half of this saga, and reviews have been mixed, but the Internet loves Snyder’s works, so this space opera is receiving an abundance of streaming hours as we head into the New Year.

2. Saltburn (Lucky Chap/MRC/Lie Still film streaming on Amazon Prime)

In case you haven’t been forewarned, you probably shouldn’t watch this one with the fam. Barry Keoghan’s character really goes to town in multiple scenes that will cause you to nervously laugh at best, and at worst? We don’t want to spoil the fun here, but it sure would be something if Keoghan earned another Oscar nod for this performance. Rosamund Pike is likewise lofty in this satire of the posh British class, and Jacob Elordi likewise earns more accolades here, but do not sleep on Archie Madekwe, ever.

1. Reacher (Amazon Prime series)

This second season is already pleasing the masses while Reacher shows no shortage of new ways to kick ass, and that includes a group of bikers, too. A third round of junk food and miraculous deductions from the wanderer will be on the way, but in the meantime, enjoy seeing the leading man as a team player. That’s not his natural state of being, but Alan Ritchson is selling every side of The Big Guy while alternately crushing skulls and sandwiches.

The 2023 season has been a rather disastrous one for the Carolina Panthers. After trading up in the draft to select Bryce Young at No. 1 overall, they have bottomed out with the NFL’s worst record at 2-14, ensuring the 2024 pick they send to Chicago will be this season’s first overall selection.

The Panthers hired and fired Frank Reich as head coach, have had little in the way of bright spots on the field, and enter this upcoming offseason with a long list of upgrades needed if they’re going to take any strides forward in 2024. Sunday brought the Panthers their latest loss, losing 26-0 to the Jaguars in Jacksonville, despite the Jags starting backup CJ Beathard at quarterback. It was yet another demoralizing loss as the offense looked completely aimless, with plenty of blame to go around for their lackluster performance.

A fair portion of the blame for the Panthers struggles belongs with owner David Tepper, who by all accounts has his hands in the day-to-day football operations of the team. Tepper is now on his sixth head coach (including interims) since buying the team in 2018, and was among the driving forces in selecting Young first overall. The losing streak has apparently been wearing on Tepper, who did not enjoy his afternoon in Jacksonville and ended his day by tossing his drink at fans below his luxury box.

This is definitely a first that I’ve ever seen, as there have certainly been owners and fans that have shared words before but I can’t ever recall an owner tossing a drink (or anything else) at someone. Tepper will almost assuredly get a response from the NFL for this one, and while I’m sure the Jags fans in front of his box were enjoying themselves and giving him some grief during the game, there’s really no excuse for this kind of action from a clearly frustrated owner — although he has set himself up well for a new starring role on a Real Housewives spinoff in Charlotte.

Just as Cardi B refuses to let up on Taska K in pursuit of her court-decided judgment, “How We Do” rapper The Game has found himself in the same piping-hot financial waters. According to Radar Online, The Game lost his latest legal battle against his sexual assault accuser, Priscilla Rainey.

On December 29, Rainey argued that The Game has been imploring sneaky business tactics to avoid paying out his $7 million judgment. In the paperwork, Rainey alleged that The Game transferred several high-value assets, including his California mansion (estimated at $2.8 million), trademarks, and even cash funds to shell companies (JTT Holdings, Inc, F12 & Associates, 5th Amendment Entertainment, and Pass Go 2 Win LLC) then his manager Wack 100, to avoid being seized by the courts on Rainey’s behalf via a lien.

Even though Wack 100 testified that he received these items due to debts The Game previously owed him, the judge ruled in Rainey’s favor, urging The Game to resume payment towards the remaining balance. Rainey stated in court that The Game has only paid $500,000 toward the massive seven-figure total so far.

The Game maintains that he did not sexually assault Rainey during the filming of his then-reality show, She Got Game, which aired in 2015.

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

Some 300 million people live in the United States. And over 40 million of them are immigrants.

Now, some people might have you believe that too many immigrants might cause us to lose our identity as Americans or that we ought to be fighting and clinging to “the way things were.”

But if you look around, you’ll see that more than 1 in 10 Americans were born somewhere else — meaning they have their own unique set of amazing experiences to share and their own amazing stories about why they’re here.

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They each have their own ideas about what being an American means to them, too. And they each have their own reasons for celebrating American independence on the Fourth of July.

So if you want to feel proud, excited, and maybe even a teensy bit emotional about being an American, this one’s for you.

Meet five immigrants from all over the country (and all over the world!) who are showing their American pride in many, many shades of red, white, and blue this year.

1. Nayeli Ruvalcaba’s Fourth of July is full of traditional Mexican food and mariachi music.

Ruvalcaba, who was born in Mexico but moved to Chicago when she was 4, spent her early childhood in a mostly caucasian neighborhood called Lakeview. There, she says the Fourth of July was pretty much what you’d expect.

“Everyone would be making ribs and burgers and mac and cheese. And my dad would be drinking Budweisers and Coors Light,” she said with a laugh.

Nayeli with her parents.

But when she was 16, she moved to a more diverse area of the city filled with families from Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Poland.

There, she says, their holidays are much more vibrant. Neighbors gather in the alleys and share their customs and cultures with one another. They sing along with music (her boyfriend, who is in a mariachi band, often gets the party going). They play games. And then there’s the food: Nayeli says she loves to chow down on delicious Fourth of July dishes like arrachera (a Mexican skirt steak), polish sausage, guacamole, and, of course, burgers.

“I know it’s an American holiday,” she says. “Buteveryone has their own culture. You just mix it in with what everyoneelse does.”

Nayeli and her boyfriend in full mariachi get-up!

2. Johanna Dodd and her family celebrate their Fourth of July the “old fashioned way” but with a small U.K.-based twist.

A one-year work contract for her husband brought the Dodds to Connecticut from the U.K. years ago. 12 years later, they’re still here.

The Dodds!

On their Fourth of July, she says, “We tend to do what everyone else in town does. We’ll head to the fireworks display with our cooler packed full of food, and, occasionally, we’ll sneak in some alcohol.”

Sounds pretty American to me!

Johanna’s young daughter watches the fireworks.

“The kids run around, there’s lots of glow sticks, lots of football (both kinds) being played, lots of fun stuff happening. As it gets darker, there’s the national anthem, and then out come the fireworks.”

But there is one slightly British twist to the Dodds’ holiday: “We don’t really do the tailgating thing. We bring what we would call ‘an English tea.’ There’s watermelon, yogurts, cheese sandwiches. Kind of a mishmash of both cultures.”

3. Martin Matthews says he never misses a Fourth of July parade and for a powerful reason.

Matthews was 8 years old when he first came to America to escape a civil war in his home country of Liberia. One of his first memories? A huge Fourth of July parade in New Jersey.

“I had never seen anything like that. The flags, the drums, everything. I remember watching in awe.”

Martin with his wife.

He returned to Africa later on but came back to live in America again when fighting broke out in his home country. And when he returned, that big parade stuck in his memory.

“I always loved that about America. It was a place I could be safe. A place I could enjoy freedom,” he said. “To celebrate the independence of the United States holds a deep place in my heart.”

These days, Martin is big on having barbecues with friends to celebrate Independence Day. There are a lot of burgers and hot dogs, but he’ll sometimes mix in traditional African dishes, too, like African-style kabobs, to introduce his friends to his heritage.

“It’s a big thing in Africa for people to put fish on the grill, like the whole fish,” he added. “You put the whole thing on there. It was the first time some of my American friends had ever tried fish on the grill that wasn’t salmon.”

But his favorite thing about the holiday is still the parades. “We get there early and wave our American flags. Every year I always wear some kind of American shirt. We sit there and watch everything. It’s my way of saying thanks to my adopted country.”

4. Jay Pockyarath mixes cricket with an American-style barbecue on Independence Day.

“Ever since I was in eighth grade, all I wanted to do was come to the United States,” he told Upworthy. After finishing college in India, he finally got the chance when studying nuclear medicine at the University of Michigan. From there, he married an American woman and started a family.

“The thing that works [in America] is that it’s a meritocracy,” Pockyarath said. “July Fourth is a celebration of that, in my mind. Of independence. Of the freedom to succeed.”

Jay, who was born in India, proudly flies an American flag outside his home for July Fourth.

Pockyarath has lived in the United States for over 40 years, so it’s no surprise that his holiday celebration looks pretty familiar: steak, hamburgers, and hot dogs on the grill. To him, what’s really important is spending time with family.

“Usually we make up games,” he laughed. “We play cricket — not the way it’s supposed to be played, but with a tennis ball. We make up our own rules.”

5. Natalia Paruz is originally from Israel, and she decorates everything in red, white, and blue.

Natalia is now a musician in New York City.

“First I came here with my parents [about 20 years ago] for a year. At the end of the year, they went back to Israel, and I wanted to stay here,” she told Upworthy.

Now she works as a musician in New York City. And she absolutely, positively loves the Fourth of July.

“It’s a really fun day. It’s a day where you can put politics aside. It’s a day for celebrating the joy of this country.”

Natalia and her husband host friends every year for a big meal. “I love decorating the house for the holiday with the flags. There’s always a big flag hanging from the flagpole. In the back, that’s where I really go all out. Every tree gets some kind of decoration!”

“We make hot dogs, hamburgers — how can you not?” she said. “We also make tahini, which is a traditional Israeli food. It’s made of sesame seeds and it becomes a paste and you spread it on pita bread. Our friends here love it.”

Natalia says an overabundance of food “as if you’re going to entertain a bunch of soldiers” is a nod to her Israeli roots.

This year, she’s going out with friends to watch fireworks. “I wear a T-shirt that has an American flag on it and a bracelet with the colors of the flag. If you’re celebrating, you might as well go to the maximum.”

It turns out, celebrating America means different things to different people. And that’s kind of the point.

In my mind, the only thing better than a Fourth of July party filled with burgers, steaks, beer, and fireworks is a Fourth of July party filled with all of those things plus Mexican food and African music and “English tea” and tahini and mariachi bands and more.

So whether we choose to embrace the “American way” of celebrating Independence Day (red meat and fireworks) or to use it as a chance to celebrate the unique melting pot of culture that is our country today or something in between, I think we can all agree that the America we have now is already pretty great.

This article originally appeared on 07.01.16

The Philadelphia Eagles came into Sunday’s game against the 3-12 Cardinals needing to win their final two games of the season and get a little help from the San Francisco. 49ers opponents if they were going to repeat as the NFC’s 1-seed and earn a first round bye in the playoffs. With the Lions controversial loss on Saturday night in Dallas, the Eagles also needed to win out to guarantee themselves the NFC East division title over the Cowboys.

Given the Cardinals record, they weren’t supposed to be a particularly big road block to the Eagles on Sunday, but as has been the case much of this season, Philadelphia insisted on making it difficult on themselves. The Eagles defense had no answers for Kyler Murray, James Conner, and the Cardinals offense all game, so when they arrived in the final two minutes needing a stop to preserve a 31-28 lead, there wasn’t much optimism.

Sure enough, the Cardinals moved deep into Philly territory on a long pass play to Greg Dortch, who broke free on a crossing route and got the ball inside the ten.

Then Arizona gave the ball to Conner, who had 128 yards rushing on the day, for his second total touchdown to put the Cardinals up by four.

Philly would move the ball out to midfield, but could only muster a Hail Mary attempt that got picked off in the end zone.

It was a brutal loss for the Eagles, as the defense has not seemed to take any strides forward with Matt Patricia now calling the plays and some pretty dreadful vibes around the team. They now find themselves tied with Dallas atop the NFC East standings entering the final week of the season (with the Cowboys owning the tiebreakder), and allow the Niners to go into Week 18 with the top seed wrapped up.

Being married is like being half of a two-headed monster. It’s impossible to avoid regular disagreements when you’re bound to another person for the rest of your life.

Even the perfect marriage (if there was such a thing) would have its daily frustrations. Funnily enough, most fights aren’t caused by big decisions but the simple, day-to-day questions, such as “What do you want for dinner?”; “Are we free Friday night?”; and “What movie do you want to see?”

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Here are some hilarious tweets that just about every married couple will understand.

This article originally appeared on 09.06.17

“I Wanna Be Software” musician Grimes has never been one for labels. Typically, Grimes doesn’t care to clarify any online chatter linked to her name (especially surrounding her relationship with Elon Musk). However, regarding her children and ideology, she is always ready to clap back.

Today (December 31), Grimes took to her official X (formerly Twitter) page to blast users for labeling her a Nazi after expressing her appreciation for white culture. “I’m called a Nazi because I happily am proud of white culture. But every day, I think fondly of the brown king Cyrus the Great, who invented the first ever empire, and the Japanese icon Murasaki Shikibu, who wrote the first novel ever. What if humans just loved each other,” wrote Grimes.

She added, “History teaches us that we have all been, and always will be – great.”

Users online chimed with further criticism hurling other damning designations, including referring to Grimes as a white supremacist. “I’m a human suprematist – humans are amazing,” wrote Grimes in response to the claim.

After her initial post caused a firestorm of backlash, followers begged Grimes to delete the statement and step away from her account for a while. Both of which, she admittedly refused to do, writing, “I don’t care. I will always ride for the beauty and ingenuity of all humans. It is only those who refuse to look at history who think anyone superior or inferior, and I will happily die on this hill.”

When Grimes fans said they wanted to start 2024 with a bang, I’m sure this isn’t what they had envisioned.

(full text transcribed under the post).

A Facebook user recently commented that the Eagles had “played like they were wearing tutus!!!”

Our response:

“With all due respect to the Eagles, let’s take a minute to look at what our tutu wearing women have done this month:

By tomorrow afternoon, the ballerinas that wear tutus at Pennsylvania Ballet will have performed The Nutcracker 27 times in 21 days. Some of those women have performed the Snow scene and the Waltz of the Flowers without an understudy or second cast. No ‘second string’ to come in and spell them when they needed a break. When they have been sick they have come to the theater, put on make up and costume, smiled and performed. When they have felt an injury in the middle of a show there have been no injury timeouts. They have kept smiling, finished their job, bowed, left the stage, and then dealt with what hurts. Some of these tutu wearers have been tossed into a new position with only a moments notice. That’s like a cornerback being told at halftime that they’re going to play wide receiver for the second half, but they need to make sure that no one can tell they’ve never played wide receiver before. They have done all of this with such artistry and grace that audience after audience has clapped and cheered (no Boo Birds at the Academy) and the Philadelphia Inquirer has said this production looks “better than ever”.

So no, the Eagles have not played like they were wearing tutus. If they had, Chip Kelly would still be a head coach and we’d all be looking forward to the playoffs.”

Happy New Year!

In case it wasn’t obvious, toughness has nothing to do with your gender.

Gendered and homophobic insults in sports have been around basically forever — how many boys are called a “pansy” on the football field or told they “throw like a girl” in Little League?

“They played like they were wearing tutus” is the same deal. It’s shorthand for “You’re kinda ladylike, which means you’re not tough enough.”

Toughness, however, has a funny way of not being pinned to one particular gender. It’s not just ballerinas, either. NFL cheerleaders? They get paid next to nothing to dance in bikini tops and short-shorts in all kinds of weather — and wear only ever-so-slightly heavier outfits when the thermometer drops below freezing. And don’t even get me started on how mind-bogglingly badass the Rockettes are.

Toughness also has nothing to do with what kind of clothes you wear.

As my colleague Parker Molloy astutely points out, the kinds of clothes assigned to people of different genders are, and have always been, basically completely arbitrary. Pink has been both a “boys color” and a “girls color” at different points throughout history. President Franklin D. Roosevelt — longtime survivor of polio, Depression vanquisher, wartime leader, and no one’s idea of a wimp — was photographed in his childhood sporting a long blonde hairstyle and wearing a dress.

Many of us are conditioned to see a frilly pink dance costume and think “delicate,” and to look at a football helmet and pads and think “big and strong.” But scratch the surface a little bit, and you’ll meet tutu-wearing ballerinas who that are among toughest people on the planet and cleat-and-helmet-wearing football players who are … well. The 2015 Eagles.

You just can’t tell from their outerwear.

Ballerinas wear tutus for the same reason football players wear uniforms and pads:

To get the job done.

This article originally appeared on 01.05.16

Is “Hurt You” singer Toni Braxton going into 2024 as a married woman? Yesterday (December 30), her younger sister Tamar Braxton certainly made it appear that way. During an Instagram Live broadcast, fans bombard Tamar with questions about the status of Toni and Cash Money Records CEO Birdman’s relationship, brought forth by a rumor spreading across social media that the duo eloped in a private ceremony in Mexico.

Joined by her fiancee Jeremy “JR” Robinson, Tamar joked, “Let me find out they (Toni and Birdman) got married before us,” adding, “But, they’ve been together 14,000 umpteen years!”

So, did Toni Braxton and Birdman get married? According to Toni, the answer is flat-out and unequivocally no. The notoriously private singer rushed to her official Instagram page to shut down the chatter. “My dear friend Birdman and I are not married. [We’ve] never been married. We are both single,” wrote Toni.

Not only are the pair not husband and wife, but based on Toni’s note, the duo are no longer dating. Toni and Birdman established a working relationship in 2022 after working on the song “Baby You Can Do It.” Their friendship remained over the decade until they took things to another level in 2016, when they confirmed their relationship. By 2018, they were engaged. It is unclear when they officially split.

Kara Coley, a bartender at Sipps in Gulfport, Mississippi, got an unusual phone call on the job last week.

“Good evening,” Coley answered. “Thank you for calling Sipps!”

A woman on the other end of the line asked, “Is this a gay bar?”

Sipps welcomes everyone, Coley explained to her, but indeed attracts a mostly LGBTQ crowd.

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“Can I ask you a question?” the caller followed up. “Are you gay?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Coley said.

Then things got interesting.

“What was the one thing you wanted from your parents when you came out?” the woman continued.

Coley, who’s tended bar for about 17 years, was a little caught off guard. In all her years of experience fielding requests and helping others working in the service industry, she’d never received a question like that.

“My son just came out to me,” the woman continued on the other end of the line. “And I don’t want to say anything that may mess him up in the head.”

Coley thought for a moment. Then she asked the woman if she accepted her son for who he is.

The woman answered “yes.”

“You should definitely let him know that you love and accept him!” Coley said. “I think everything will be OK from there!”

The woman thanked Coley for her input and they parted ways.

Later that night, in the early hours of Jan. 19, Coley decided to post the entire interaction to her Facebook page, noting how “random” it all had been.

In the days following, her post went viral, amassing over 1,500 likes and hundreds of shares.

So I got the most random phone call at the bar tonight! 😀Me:Good evening Thankyou for calling Sipps!Lady on phone: Is…
Posted by Kara Coley on Friday, January 19, 2018

The post’s comment section soon filled with love and gratitude for Coley’s simple but endearing answer.

“My heart is truly touched by this,” one Facebook user wrote. “A parent wanting to support correctly, and a beautiful response. This is progress. This is love and acceptance in the rawest form.”

“Kara, this old granny lesbian is so grateful for you, and for a parent that thought outside the box to get advice!” another user chimed in. “Keep being you!”

“[The response] has been amazing,” Coley writes. She believes her post struck a chord with friends and strangers alike because people are looking for encouraging news: “Every day people wake up and there’s so much negativity in the world — people just need a breath of fresh air!”

For parents to an LGBTQ child, it’s still vital to understand the facts too, Coley noted: “Educate yourself [on LGBTQ issues] and do a little research.”

Ideally, parents should have access to better resources than their local gay bar when it comes to getting help with LGBTQ parenting. At the end of the day, though, the best thing you can do as a parent is make sure your kid understands you’re there through thick and thin.

“Just knowing you have someone in your corner takes a little weight off your shoulders,” Coley wrote.

Learn more about being a good ally as a parent of an LGBTQ child at PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). If you’re a young LGBTQ person who needs help, resources are available at The Trevor Project.

This article originally appeared on January 24, 2018