The Rock has found himself in the center of a new but tasty controversy after the powerhouse movie star dropped a social media post touting his first trip to In-N-Out Burger.
In the video shared on Instagram, The Rock pulls up to the drive-up where he’s greeted with a “Holy sh*t!” by an employee who can’t believe what’s happening. From there, The Rock does his best to place an order and greet the throng of employees who flock to the drive-up window to get a look at him.
The Rock also wrote about his burger run in the caption:
“My first ever @innout burger experience,” The Rock said. “Rolled up in my pick up and tried to be cool af with my order. But I didn’t know the lingo, didn’t know who to pay, where to pay, didn’t know shit. But I’m a quick study. Loved everyone’s positive vibes and their ‘holy shit it’s the rock’ energy. LOVED the grub. And love how everyone in the drive-thru looked at me like I have three heads when I give them a tip.”
There’s just one small problem: This was not The Rock’s first trip to In-N-Out or even his first time posting about it on Instagram. Just last year, The Rock made an Instagram post in August 2022 about hitting In-N-Out for the first time as a cheat day.
But, as TMZ notes, that also wasn’t his first time either.
Going back a bit further to 2017, The Rock made another Instagram post where he once again claimed to be stopping at the burger joint for the first time and couldn’t believe the reaction he got from the employees at the drive-up window. (Sound familiar?)
It seems like The Rock’s go-to move for social media hits is to pretend he’s trying In-N-Out for the first time and hoping no one scrolls through his Instagram for clear and obvious evidence that he’s practically a regular.
Trina‘s got the internet in a tizzy thanks to a recent interview in which she handed Beyoncé a very specific and unexpected title (it’s mostly Nicki Minaj stans overreacting, but still). In an interview with HipHopDX (a fellow subsidiary of Warner Music Group), Trina called the Renaissance singer the “No. 1 female rapper when she does rap.” Now, this isn’t the hottest take — after all, I wrote a list of Beyoncé’s 10 best rap songs earlier this month and left QUITE a few potential songs off. But, of course, some people (the Barbz) are always going to take offense to differing opinions.
After catching wind of the backlash, though, the Miami “p*ssy rap” pioneer refused to back down, posting a response on her Instagram Story calling out those who attacked her for speaking her mind. “For the dusty crusty funky b***hes in the bacccckkkk,” she wrote. “Beyoncé is the queen of rap (when she raps) and ALL other genres of music. Now stay mad goofy’s I said what I said and NANN b***h gone check me. Carry on.”
I KNOW THAT’S RIGHT | Trina caught some heat for crowning Beyoncé as her personal choice for ‘Queen of rap’ but she’s standing ten toes down on it.
She followed up with a post — on the grid, so you know it’s serious — in which she continued to read the haters for filth. “I rlly don’t give a rats ass how anybody feel, I said what I said,” she wrote in the caption. “that’s the Queen Bey and I’m gonna STAN on that! Beyonce is the Queen of rap (when she raps) and ALL genres of music when it comes to me go argue with the IRS or somebody else idc.”
Well then.
That’s high praise coming from someone who could well be considered one of rap’s biggest trailblazers (seriously, the fact her name isn’t mentioned with the Latifahs, Kims, and Missy Elliotts of the world is a crime against Hip-Hop 50, but we see the agenda). She’s got a point about those slow news days too. But if this comment actually has you bothered, feel free to pick up a copy of The Motherlode and learn some hip-hop history before 2009.
If you haven’t ironed out your New Year’s Eve plans, Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen have you covered. Although CNN’s beloved broadcast special, New Year’s Eve Live With Anderson Cooper And Andy Cohen, is yet again slated to be alcohol-free, viewers will be intoxicated by the sheer amount of guest cameos and musical sets.
So, who’s performing during this year’s show?
Who Is Performing At CNN’s ‘New Year’s Eve Live With Anderson Cooper And Andy Cohen?’
Beginning at 8 p.m. ET, the annual festivities will kick off live on-air. The entertainers confirmed to deliver a musical performance during the broadcast include Uproxx cover stars Jonas Brothers, who are sure to track a large crowd to the city given their New Jersey roots. Other performers include Miranda Lambert, Enrique Iglesias, Maroon 5, Flo Rida, Darius Rucker and Rod Stewart.
In addition to the performances, Cooper and Cohen will interview a slew of entertainers such as Patti Labelle, Jeremy Renner, Neil Patrick Harris, Bowen Yang, and Matt Rogers. If that wasn’t magical enough, David Blaine is set to make a special cameo.
CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live With Anderson Cooper And Andy Cohen will stream live on Sunday, December 31, at 8 p.m. ET via CNN Max, CNN.com, and the CNN network. Find more information here.
2023 is almost over, but Barack Obama got in his favorite songs of the year list just under the wire (he revealed his movies list earlier in the week). “Here are some of my favorite songs from this year. Let me know if there are any artists or songs I should check out,” he wrote on X. Obama’s picks include “American Has A Problem” Beyoncé ft. Kendrick Lamar, “My Love Is All Mine” by Mitski (looks like someone’s been on TikTok), “Cast Iron Skillet” by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, and “Cobra” by Megan Thee Stallion.
Here’s the full list:
“TQG” by Karol G & Shakira
“I Remember Everything” by Zach Bryan Feat. Kacey Musgraves
“Sprinter” by Dave & Central Cee
“Since I Have A Lover” by 6LACK
“Cobra” by Megan Thee Stallion
“Joiner” by Blondshell
“Midnight Gospel” by Alé Araya Feat. Joseph Chilliams
“America Has A Problem” by Beyoncé Feat. Kendrick Lamar
“Water” by Tyla
“The Returner” by Allison Russell
“Unavailable” by Davido Feat. Musa Keys
“My Love Is All Mine” by Mitski
“Sittin’ On Top Of The World” by Burna Boy Feat. 21 Savage
“Vampire Empire” by Big Thief
Younger & Dumber” by Indigo De Souza
“Toxic Trait” by Stormzy Feat. Fredo
“Where You Are” by John Summit & Hayla
“La Bebe (Remix)” by Yng Lvcas & Peso Pluma
“On My Mama” by Victoria Monét
“Cast Iron Skillet” by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
“WY@” Brent Faiyaz
“Amapiano” by Asake & Olamide
“Lose Control” by Teddy Swims
“Crazy Love” by Rita Wilson & Keith Urban
“Drink The River” by Gabe Lee
“Road To Freedom” by Lenny Kravitz
“It Never Went Away” by Jon Batiste
“Me & U” by Tems
Here are some of my favorite songs from this year. Let me know if there are any artists or songs I should check out. pic.twitter.com/8BaeGxWUsv
Earlier this year, Obama was asked by comedian Hasan Minhaj whether he takes any shortcuts with his year-end lists. “People, they believe the books and the movies, but the playlists, they somehow think — and this is mostly coming from young people like you,” the former president explained. “Somehow, y’all think you invented rock and roll. You invented hip-hop. And so the fact that my lists are pretty incredible, people seem to think, ‘Well, he must’ve had some 20-year-old intern who was figuring out this latest cut.’ No, man. It’s on my iPad right now!”
I’m not calling Obama a liar, but what 62-year-old dad doesn’t put a single Rolling Stones song on their list? Just saying.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
This drink dates back to World War I and French artillery. But brass tacks — this is a fancy Tom Collins. A base of dry gin, fresh lemon juice, and sugar is topped with sparkling champagne instead of sparkling water. That’s the main difference but not the only one. Where a Tom Collins uses simple syrup as the sweetener, a French 75 is best made with powdered sugar. The powdered sugar adds a completely different dimension and mouthfeel to the whole drink. So much so, that you might start making your Tom Collins with powdered sugar too!
Beyond those specific points, this drink is super easy to make. You just need to give this one a shake and you’re good to go. Let’s dive in!
Also Read: The Top Five Cocktail Recipes of the Last Six Months
You don’t need to break the bank but always buy quality ingredients for cocktails. I’m using Fords London Dry Gin which is specially formulated for mixing cocktails. It tastes great, mixes well, and is easily found at liquor stores. When it comes to a good dry — or “brut” — champagne for this cocktail, I like to go with Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Champagne. It’s a great dry sparkling wine that doesn’t break the bank and works really well with this drink.
It’s also usually between $30 and $40 a bottle, which is a prime price point. The rest of the ingredients are easy to pick up at any grocery store.
Zach Johnston
What You’ll Need:
Champagne flute (prechilled)
Cocktail shaker
Cocktail strainer
Jigger
Paring knife
Barspoon
Zach Johnston
Method:
Add the gin, lemon juice, and powdered sugar to a cocktail shaker. Add a large handful of ice and affix the lid. Shake vigorously for at least 20 seconds — up to 30 — until the cocktail starts to froth.
Strain the cocktail base into the glass, top with champagne, express the oils of the lemon peel over the glass, and serve.
Bottom Line:
Zach Johnston
Okay, this is like a ray of sunshine on a cold wintry night. There’s such a beautiful brightness thanks to the lemon and powdered sugar emulsifying and creating this lemon creaminess to the drink. It’s lush and vibrant.
The gin is just there with a nice botanical kick but it’s very dialed back. There’s more of a faint winter spice with a hint of high desert brush than a funky juniper.
The champagne topper really helps the whole thing come together and pop on the senses. The fizzy bubbles lighten the creaminess of the lemon while the sweet orchard fruit blends perfectly with the gin. This is complimentary in every way. It’s also goddamn delicious.
Lately, Camila Cabello news has been mostly dating rumors, as she’s been linked to Drake, Playboi Carti, and Rauw Alejandro in recent months. More than tabloid fodder, though, Cabello is one of our brightest pop stars. She’s also due for a new album: She has three albums to her name so far and they were all released about two years apart from each other. Her latest, Familia, came out in April 2022, so if the math maths, a new one might be on the way in the near future.
Is Camila Cabello releasing a new album in 2024?
It sure looks like it.
Cabello wrapped up her 2023 yesterday (December 28) with a series of Instagram Story posts looking back on her year. Some of the pics seemed to hint at what’s to come: One photo is a POV shot of her in a studio, another is a “productivity graph” drawn on a whiteboard, and one is a text to her mother that says “it’s slutty but it’s art” (her take on her new music, perhaps?).
The most telling Story, though, is a selfie with a microphone, which she captioned, “mostly the year of this [zippered mouth emoji] see you next year b*tches.”
It was a relatively quiet year on the music front (in terms of releases) for Cabello, although she did have a voice role in the movie Trolls Band Together.
It’s officially champagne time. New Year’s Eve is when we pop the most corks. There’s just something about the soft rich bubbles of a good French wine that feels special, rejuvenating, and celebratory. As with most things beer, wine, and spirits these days though, there’s a ton of champagne on the shelf — and it is not all created equal. So to save you from grabbing a sub-par bottle of champers, we’re calling out 12 bottles that are guaranteed to put a smile on your face as the ball drops.
Below, we’re calling out the real-deal bubbly. This is the sparkling white and rose wine from Champagne, France. You can pop prosecco or your local sparkling wines during the hot summer months. New Year’s Eve calls for the good stuff. But as I mentioned above, there’s so much French sparkling wine on the shelf right now that you can easily grab some shitty bottles too. The 12 bottles of champagne that we’ve listed below will help you avoid that.
The nuance there is the flavor profiles. There’s also the issue of the depth of those profiles — which can range from light and airy to “holy shit, where has this been all of my life!?!” So we’ve ranked these 12 champagnes. Our advice is to read through our professional tasting notes, find the bottles of champagne that speak to you, and then hit those price links to get some bottles delivered. Let’s dive in!
This champagne might be the most representative of the region in a single bottle. Nicolas Feuillatte is more of a collective (or union) of 100 individual winemakers and 82 winemaking cooperatives covering over 5,000 vineyards around Champagne, France. That equates to Feuillatte pulling its juice from a swath of vineyards that cover around 7% of the wine grown in the region.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a sense of dry breadiness next to ripe apricots and peaches that draws you in on the nose before a light flutter of clay dirt sneaks in on the back end.
Palate: The body is effervescent and full of bubbles that burst with orchard-pitted fruits alongside hints of vanilla and musty cellars full of old oak barrels.
Finish: The end gets creamy with that vanilla and a twinge of fresh flowers with apricot and peach skins and pits.
Bottom Line:
This is a great (and affordable!) place to start. This wine is a crowd-pleaser and very bright. And while it’s great for sipping (especially when ice-cold), we’d recommend using this one for champagne cocktails.
Eugene Laurent and Mathilde Emilie Perrier were a husband and wife team who created the third-best-selling champagne in the world. When Laurent died, he left the whole operation to Perrier, who took the champagne worldwide and found even more success.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a beautiful balance of bright lemon citrus and very summery French florals on the nose (think fields of lavender baking in the sun).
Palate: That citrus leads towards a ripe apricot sweetness and body with a buttery underbelly that’s counter to all that dry fizz and tartness from the citrus.
Finish: The end is mellow and embraces the florals, lemon, and apricot.
Bottom Line:
Again, this is bright and airy but has that little bit more depth, which makes it very sippable. If you’re looking for a bright stroll through a fruit orchard in the spring/summer this winter, this is the wine to pour.
Taittinger blends old monastery wine-making, modern Chateau culture, and a deep history of Chardonnay grapes. The non-vintage wine leans into the Chardonnay grapes in the blend (basically, flipping on its head the ratio of Pinot to Chardonnay in the average blend), making this an outlier in the world of champagnes. The result is a nice break-from-the-norm bottle of bubbly.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a lightness that’s a bit of a trick, as the nose will tempt you with hints of peaches, buttery and yeasty brioche, summer wildflowers, and a whisper of vanilla.
Palate: The palate holds onto the stonefruit as a fresh honeycomb sweetness arrives late, bringing the whole sip together with a deep almost creamy nature of fresh butter whipped with honey, marmalade, and soft scones.
Finish: The end leans into the creamy honey vibes with a deep sense of dried apricot mixed with fatty nuts and a whisper of those wildflowers on a summer breeze.
Bottom Line:
This takes on a nice buttery depth. The finish lasts here, making this a good and bold sipper for a big meal.
Pol Roger goes back to the mid-1800s (like so many on this list). The wine was so beloved that it received a “royal warrant” to become the official champagne of the court of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. That tradition carries on today as it now has the “royal warrant” for the British Crown, in large part thanks to Winston Churchill insisting that he only drank this champagne for decades. Translation: It’s really good stuff.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The champagne draws you in with this medley of bright wildflowers next to a brioche folded with stewed apple and a touch of vanilla and jasmine.
Palate: The palate revels in apricot jam, stewed plums, and more vanilla before a bright and slightly burnt orange oil arrives with hints of figs, anise, and beeswax candle wicks.
Finish: The end draws the perfect amount of fizzy buzz that’s almost heavy before drawing buttery brioche to a flutter of pain au chocolat.
Bottom Line:
This is getting into the complex and delicious wines. This also pulls off that magic trick of starting light, feeling brash and bold, and ending perfectly balanced between the two. It’s easy to see why the British royals pour this for their everyday champagne needs to this day.
Veuve Clicquot is a great starter champagne when you’re looking to take things up from novice to advanced beginner without getting too deep into the “advanced” stuff. Their Rose offering is made with 50 to 60 different crus that come from largely Pinot Noir grapes supported by Meunier and Chardonnay wines.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Berry tarts with buttery pastry and bright citrus oils pop on the nose next to a flourish of almond and lemon cookies dusted with powdered sugar and a whisper of oak spice.
Palate: Those berry tarts take on a rich strawberry note on the palate that’s fresh and vibrant before that butteriness returns with a moment of vanilla pods and old oak staves soaked in dry brandy.
Finish: A moment of orange oil drives the finish toward dry oak and butter vanilla with a hint of those bright berries lingering the longest.
Bottom Line:
Veuve is already a great choice to pop any ol’ time of year. The specialness of their rose varietal feels that little more dialed to NYE celebrations. Why? There’s more of that holiday dessert vibe with dark berries and lemon cookies with a hint of old oak and dark brandy. Add in the light bitterness and the whole thing feels like the perfect after-dinner sipper.
Moët is a very old-school champagne that goes back to the court of French royalty. The popularity of this wine cannot be understated. They’re one of the biggest producers of champagne in the world. Nectar Impérial is a special blend of reserve wines (old ones) chosen to add a deeper sense of richness and complexity to the bubbly.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The flute pulls you in with a sense of tropical fruits leaning towards mangos and pineapple while stonefruits lurk in the background.
Palate: Those stonefruits take over on the palate with apricots and meaty plums leading toward a white grape touch next to a hint of vanilla.
Finish: Finally, that vanilla takes on a slightly creamy edge (thanks to a touch of Chardonnay in the blend), bringing a well-rounded body to this sip.
Bottom Line:
Creamy vanilla sauce over a bowl of fresh winter fruits? Yes, please! While that does sound like a great after-dinner sipper too, this wine really shines any time of day with any meal, crowd, or vibe. It’s probably the most “for everyone” champers on the list.
Louis Roederer is one of the oldest Champagne houses that also happens to be one of the few fully independent shingles. The wine made a name as the champagne of the Russian Royal Court pre-revolution. As those royals ran for their lives, they spread the love of Louis Roederer to Paris, London, New York, and Shanghai, helping make the wine a truly international brand.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a real sense of an orchard full of stone fruits next to lightly roasted nuts with a hint of a warm croissant on the nose.
Palate: That butter and yeasty bready fades first as the ripe apricot and gooseberries counterpoint a deep dryness and light bubbles that are dry and full of that dry yeastiness.
Finish: There’s very little sweetness at play as a touch of oaky vanilla pops on the very end with a sense of dry oak, brandy, and apricot just kissed by dry honeycombs and apple peels.
Bottom Line:
This is a dry AF wine. That makes this one a little bit more of an acquired taste for some. The sweetness is drawn way back, allowing the wood and yeast to take center stage. We’d argue that makes this one a wonderful counterpoint for a big fatty meal as a slow sipper. But be warned, some champagne neophytes might not dig this one as much as the sweeter wines on the list.
Ruinart Blanc is a very specific champagne. It’s made from 100% Chardonnay grapes. The ripple here is that 25% of the blend is from reserve wines that have settled in oak for several years before batching. Those wines are primarily Premier Crus (premiere vineyards with the best terroir) from the Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs regions.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This nose bursts with a fresh fruit basket brimming with pears, sweet and tart apples, freshly plucked red berries, and a big ol’ pineapple in the middle before hints of summer wildflowers and fresh ginger sneak in.
Palate: The palate is lush with a sense of walnut fats and cardamom pods next to fresh peach tossed with pear brandy and orange zest with a whisper of sea salt.
Finish: The orange takes on a chinotto vibe on the finish as the spices kick in from the oak next to this lush sense of vanilla and butter at the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is a lovely and very bold pour. You’ll want to pour this as a counterpoint to charcuterie boards or as a dessert pour in place of pie and cake.
This is a premier cuvée (the first cut of wine from a batch) champagne that’s dialed in for 21st-century palates (thanks to partial ownership by Jay-Z). Beyond those facts, the winemakers keep their cards close to the chest with the details of what’s in the bottle.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Soft peach and fresh apricot pop on the nose and are countered by tart red berries and bright orange that’s part oily and part floral before a buttery and sweet brioche arrives.
Palate: Those red berries sweeten toward a brandied cherry on the front of the palate as lemon-kissed sugar cookies with a creamy honey sweetness drive the palate toward soft oakiness and a hint of dry cedar.
Finish: That dry cedar drives the finish toward a whisper of winter spice barks before the creamy honey and brandied cherries return on the end for a lush finish full of sharp bubbles.
Bottom Line:
This is good and very dry champagne. Given the bottle, this is kind of a show-off wine. But we cannot deny that the bubbly inside is legitimately tasty and has a great holiday vibe balance of dark fruit, winter spices, and fresh bubbles. If you’re serving a buffet of holiday treats — savory and sweet — for NYE this year, then this wine will pair with it all.
Perrier Jouët Belle Epoque is a vintage champagne. That means the absolute best wines (from the top-tier vineyards) from a specific year (2014 in this case) were left alone to mature until ready for release, creating a bit of a time machine to another era of wine-making in France.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Summer wildflowers and white peaches fresh from the tree dominate the nose with a sense of sweet oakiness, soft and very fresh croissant (to the point of almost feeling warm from the oven), and this flutter of almond shell.
Palate: Fresh apple skins and pear stems drive the palate with a whisper of chinotto orange bitterness, soft lemon oils, and more of that nutshell dryness with a hint of soft oak that’s damn near creamy.
Finish: The creaminess amps on the finish as the wildflowers meld with creamed honey, soft stewed pear, and a whisper of winter spice barks.
Bottom Line:
Okay, now we’re into the unassailable amazing wines. This goes with everything wintry while also offering its own feel and depth that makes it singularly delicious as a sipper. You cannot go wrong pouring this wine for anyone from a newbie to a Master Sommelier.
Bollinger has spent centuries becoming the icon it is today. The wine got a huge boost when it became the champagne of Queen Victoria’s court in the late 1800s, which led to it being the official drink of Ian Fleming’s James Bond. Thanks to the guidance of Lily Bollinger post-WWII, the brand became the champagne that the adventurers, jet-setters, and champagne drinkers in the know drink.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This draws you in with a sense of over-ripe peaches next to tart apples and sweet pears stewed with dark spices, sultanas, and buttery wine before hitting this layer of dry oak with a hint of old cedar flakes.
Palate: That spice and apple/pear bring about an almost apple butter feel as the svelte nature of the sip leads towards a brioche loaded with walnuts with subtle winter spice barks and dry yet sweet oakiness.
Finish: The end leans into the sweet creaminess of the orchard fruit with a vibrant sense of flaked sea salt and dashes of brandied raisins and saffron-stewed apricots.
Bottom Line:
This is the wine you pop when you’re about to kiss the one you love as the new year rings in. It’s perfection … just like that kiss should be.
Krug Grande Cuvée is one of the best pours of bubbly out there (and I’m saying that as a “die-on-a-hill” Bollinger acolyte). The wine is hewn from 120 different wines that are 10 different ages, ranging into the double digits. Naturally, the wines selected are from the best vines with impeccable terroir-driven winemaking at the core of each of them.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is akin to walking through a field of wildflowers with an orange and lemon orchard in full bloom in the near distance next to rich and very good marzipan cut with moist gingerbread houses covered in candied berries, cherries, and citrus rinds.
Palate: Chinotto orange bitterness opens the dry yet creamy palate with a sense of lemon curd and quince jelly before this deep almond oil sense arrives with a hint of petit pains au chocolat aux amandes (very buttery pastries with rich chocolate and almond paste) next to a touch of dried cranberry.
Finish: The end leans into the dried red fruit and almond paste with a nice dry orange bitterness accented by subtle oakiness that’s more like a walk through a wine cellar than holding an oak stave in your hand.
Bottom Line:
This is kind of a show-off wine too (that price is no joke). But where this wine excels is in the excellence of the actual champagne in the bottle. This is a fantastic wine from top to bottom and should be the only bottle in your guests’ hands as 2024 dawns — price be damned!
There technically was a new Childish Gambino/Donald Glover project this year: an EP tied to his TV show Swarm, on which Glover wrote two songs and performed on one of them. As far as pure Gambino albums, though, the latest is 2020’s 3.15.20. Now, it looks like a new project could be coming next year.
Is Childish Gambino releasing a new album in 2024?
A TMZ interviewer caught up with Glover outside the Greenwich Hotel in New York and asked what’s coming up next from him. He said an album is on the way, so the interviewer asked when, and he replied, “Soon.”
In an interview from this past October, Glover was asked about new Gambino music and he responded, “I feel like it’ll be clear sooner rather than later. It’d be better for people to just tune in, I suppose. But I’m trying harder to not be cryptic. Tyler [The Creator] is always, like, ‘You’re so cryptic.’ But I’m like, ‘I’m really not.’ I just like suspense, I guess. I think it makes stuff better. But that’s just me.”
In a red-carpet interview from January, he also said, “I’m making music right now, I love it. I’m actually working, I’m in the studio. I’ve been bringing people in, like secret people, working on little things. But I just been, you know, making it for fun right now. But soon something will happen, I promise. Something will happen.”
So, is a new Gambino album coming in 2024? Well, he said “soon,” but he also said “soon” in January and that was nearly a year ago now. So, ultimately, time will tell.
The most interesting storytelling happening on screen in 2023 came via documentaries. These real-life narratives ran the gamut, from bittersweet love stories to extreme sports disasters, harrowing tales of war, and bone-chilling cult dispatches, but they all had one thing in common: they fascinated and informed us in equal measure. Sure, there are still a few true-crime entries padding out our “Best Of” list below, but this year also gave us an eclectic mix of films and series that expanded our ideas of what documentary filmmaking can do.
Here are the most interesting docs we watch in 2023.
Netflix
American Symphony (Netflix)
On the same day that artist and Oscar winner Jon Batiste learned he had been nominated for 11 Grammy Awards, his partner, author Suleika Jaouad got a devastating diagnosis — her cancer was back. That’s where director Matthew Heineman’s emotionally charged documentary begins, in the midst of a pendulum swing between joy and heartbreak as Batiste preps a first-of-its-kind symphony for Carnegie Hall and Jaouad confronts a deadly disease she first battled a decade earlier. Both are determined to channel their triumphs and frustrations through their art, painfully peeling back a veneer of privacy to create what may be their greatest joint effort: a raw, earnest look at life and the many beautiful ways we survive it.
Apple TV+
Still (Apple TV+)
Needle drops and re-creations help tell the story of the time Back to The Future star Michael J. Fox was the most famous actor in the world, lending a bit of fist-pumping energy to this Davis Guggenheim-directed documentary. But the true heart shines through in Fox’s conversations about his Parkinson’s diagnosis, his family, finding the ability to be present in his life, and the toughness that has allowed him to keep fighting and become a force in philanthropy. We’ve known Fox as an inspiration for the longest time, but with Still we’re reminded of the man at the center of his story – his ambitions, gifts, sacrifices, and the people and lessons that have shaped him.
Netflix
The Deepest Breath (Netflix)
Halfway through Laura McGann’s Netflix documentary about the doomed love story of a pair of freedivers, you might find yourself mimicking Alessia Zecchini, holding your breath in concert as she descends to watery depths no regular human could withstand. As you exhale, gasping for air, Zecchini forges on, following a thin cable, miles below the surface as darkness swallows her and her lungs are pressurized to near combustion. McGann’s film treads a narrative line as precarious as the metal rope that tethers Zecchini to the surface, teetering between celebrating the woman’s impressive achievements and telling a cautionary tale about obsession, love, and the very human desire to push our bodies past what they can go.
Amazon Prime
20 Days in Mariupol (Amazon Prime Video)
“I want to live in Ukraine in peace and quiet” says a man clearing debris early on in 20 Days In Mariupol, a documentary showing the destructive and vicious effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on people simply trying to go about their lives. An intensely difficult and upsetting watch that will make you want to look away often, 20 Days In Mariupol is nevertheless 2023’s most powerful documentary and an invaluable historical document.
Max
Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God (Max)
Hannah Olson’s provocative three-part docuseries opens like a found-footage horror movie. Police cam footage takes on a tour of a dilapidated home filled with half-washed children and jugs of colloidal silver before happening upon the mummified corpse of Amy Carlson, a former McDonald’s-manager-turned-cult-leader who proclaimed herself Mother God. Olson’s story works backward from there, charting Carlson’s shockingly normal childhood, her conspiracy theorist conversion via New Age forums online, and her self-aggrandizing ascent to absolute power over her wayward followers who believed her to be a 19 billion-year-old being, a reincarnation of famous historical figures like Joan of Arc and Marilyn Monroe, and humanity’s true savior. Of course, Carlson was none of those things, but Olson’s ability to earn the trust of her flock who rewarded her with revealing sit-down interviews and unfettered home video access to the group’s inner workings made what Mother God really was — a con artist who took things too far — even more interesting.
Max
Murder In Boston (Max)
A shocking, grisly murder and a strange cover-up are just the beginning of this harrowing tale about a city on the brink. In 1989, Charles Stuart frantically dialed 9-1-1, claiming both he and his pregnant wife had been shot by a Black assailant in a tracksuit. Her death sparked a citywide manhunt that unearthed decades of racial tension and police brutality in Boston, causing a fallout that reverberates to this day. The Last Dance director Jason Hehir deftly manages all of the political and social threads woven through this murder mystery, effectively showing how an unremarkable tragedy leveled an entire city and destroyed a Black community.
Netflix
Pamela: A Love Story (Netflix)
Pamela Anderson was a global sensation and sex symbol who met the negative side of fame with the release of a private sex tape from her honeymoon and the sexist, sneering jokes made at her expense in the aftermath. More than two decades later, we all got a reminder of that era with Pam & Tommy, a dramatization of Anderson’s life. But that wasn’t the whole story. How could it be when she wasn’t involved in telling it? That’s the setup for Pamela: A Love Story, but the doc does so much more than just explore that time in Anderson’s life, tracking her origins and what she’s been doing in the years since to paint a portrait of a complex and powerful icon, unlucky in love and, often in her career, yet undaunted in her efforts to live on her own terms.
Max
Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (Max)
A treasure chest of late-night bits and revolutionarily smart films is propped open long enough for some of the funniest people in the world to lavish praise on Albert Brooks, a master comic mind whose work as a filmmaker has been obscured by time. What’s better, Brooks lends his perspective to his life and career in conversation with his longtime friend and fellow genius filmmaker Rob Reiner. This could have been three times as long and we would have been deliriously happy to mine the depths of this fascinating career and movies like Real Life, Modern Romance, Lost In America, Defending Your Life, and Mother, that beg exploration and appreciation.
Yellow Veil Pictures
We Kill For Love
This look at the direct-to-video and late-night cable (Skinimax) era of erotic thrillers is a tad overlong, at times seeming encyclopedic in its reminiscence and name checks for what feels like every film in the genre from the late ‘80s to early 2000s. But what feels like a nostalgia trip turns into a concise and fascinating autopsy on a business model smothered to death by the death of the video store, the rise of the internet, and demands for more volume and less art.
Max
Savior Complex (Max)
This three-part docuseries from HBO skewers the white savior complex that fuels Christian missionary work by laying bare its worst, sometimes fatal, flaws. Renee Bach is the case study here, a young woman intent on doing good in a third-world country who overestimates her abilities to the detriment of the deathly ill children and desperate mothers who turn to her for help. Bach’s shelter for malnourished babies and young kids became a pedestal that propped up her self-mythology and though this doc does take some time to break down the racial tensions that exist in Africa thanks to American missionaries using the continent as a conversion experiment, the most interesting takeaways come from Bach’s account of her experience there. How did a woman with no medical training direct doctors and nurses on treating starved kids? And how did she escape the consequences when those treatments turned fatal? The answer is both enraging and completely unsurprising.
The holidays are when we get together with family, which can be joyous, triggering, or a combination of both, depending on who you’re related to. Therapist and TikToker Dr. Angelica Shiels says that after the holidays, her clients’ most common “hurt feeling” is from passive-aggressive and critical comments from relatives.
The pain stems from the disappointment people feel when trying to spread holiday cheer and are met with “negativity and criticism instead of positivity and enthusiasm” in return.
Dr. Shiels shared some examples of these comments in a video with over 1.3 million views. One examples is when someone is sharing their plants and is confronted with unexpected negativity. “Oh, you have a lot of plants in your house. Do you really need more plants?” Dr. Shiels says.
“When someone is trying to share something about their life, like applying to a new job, someone being negative, like, ‘Why would you want to work for Amazon? Don’t you know that they’re ruining the economy?'” she continued.
“Or if someone’s talking about painting their kitchen cabinets and someone says, I heard painting the face of the cabinets reduces the value of the house,” Dr. Shiels said.
#anxiety #criticism, and #catastrophizing lead to #negativity and damage #relationships. #family #holidays #therapy #couples #marriage #friends #parenting
According to Dr. Shiels, these negative or passive-aggressive comments are often honest responses that reveal your family member’s anxieties. Your aunt may be upset about how Amazon has affected the economy, and your brother-in-law probably believes you have too many plants.
The problem is that they took the wrong opportunity to share their thoughts with you and need to learn when it’s appropriate to be critical.
“Unless you ask first — oh, do you want my opinion on this? — It’s not helping,” Dr. Shiels said, adding that “it’s assuaging your own anxiety at the expense of your connection and relationship with others.”
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| Trina caught some heat for crowning Beyoncé as her personal choice for ‘Queen of rap’ but she’s standing ten toes down on it.
(@itsKenBarbie) 
go argue with the IRS or somebody else idc.”
