There’s a new film by legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki out in December. It’s called The Boy and the Heron, and it’s his once mysterious un-retirement movie. A decade ago he made what was supposed to be his swan song, The Wind Rises, but he eventually realized he was bored not making movies, so here we are. His films tend to be released in America with both its original audio and in star-studded English dubs. But the latter for his latest may be even more star-studded than usual. (Though you should of course seek out the Japanese-language version, but more on that in a bit.)
Per Variety, GKids, who have been distributing films by Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli in America for years, has tapped some big names. Robert Pattinson plays a mysterious grey heron who lures our 12-year-old hero (voice of You’s Luca Padovan), reeling from the death of his mother in the midst of the Second World War, into a fantastical and trippy alternate world. Christian Bale will play his kindly father, Florence Pugh one of the women he meets there, Mark Hamill his grand-uncle, who disappeared ages ago, and Gemma Chan as his aunt.
Oh, but there’s more. Dave Bautista will voice the “Parakeet King,” who leads a gang of deadly, knife-wielding (yet still cute) parakeets. And Willem Dafoe is typecast as “Noble Pelican.”
That’s a great voice cast and star power will surely lure lots of American moviegoers, and their kids, to see the latest classically hand-drawn, cel-animated Miyazaki wonder. That said, here’s why you should seek out the Japanese-language version: Miyazaki personally and laboriously oversees which Japanese actor voices which characters. He’s adamant about finding the best person to voice his very specific characters. The voice talent is as important to a Miyazaki film as all the mind-melting stuff he conjures onscreen. And that’s on top of seeing a Japanese movie about Japanese characters featuring Japanese vocal talents.
But hey, if you have to see The Boy and the Heron in a subtitle-less dub, you sure could do worse than doing so with Robert Pattinson and Christian Bale and Florence Pugh and freakin’ Willem Dafoe.
The Boy and the Heron will hit American theaters on December 8. You can watch the teaser trailer — with the original Japanese voice actors — in the video above.
Love Actually turns 20 this year, which means it’s spent two decades as a Yuletide staple, offering alternately sappy and self-deprecating British vibes. It’s also, like all films from the time, from a very different era. There’s even a reference to 9/11 in the first minute. And there’s one thing its writer-director wishes he could surgically remove: dumb weight jokes.
As per Today, Richard Curtis, who directed the film after a run writing witty Hugh Grant rom-coms like Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, and Bridget Jones’s Diary made an appearance at the Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival. He was interviewed by his daughter Scarlett, who asked him about those films. Curtis also recalled how five years ago she told him he could never use the word “fat” again.
She could have been referring to Bridget Jones’s Diary, in which its heroine’s weight is a relentless figure of fun. The same goes for Love Actually, in which Martine McCutcheon’s Natalie, a junior member of Hugh Grant’s Prime Minister’s cabinet, is ribbed for her “massive” “tree trunk thighs,” called “plumpy” by her dad, and told that she “weighs a lot” after she jumps into Grant’s arms. Those jokes don’t play now like they did in 2003.
“And wow, you were right,” Richard Curtis told his daughter in front of the crowd. “I think I was behind, you know, behind the curve, and those jokes aren’t any longer funny, so I don’t feel I was malicious at the time, but I think I was unobservant and not as, you know, as clever as I should have been.”
He also reflected on how, well, white the films are, with characters of color usually relegated to the sidelines or small supporting roles, if they’re present at all.
“I came from a very un-diverse school and a bunch of university friends,” Curtis admitted. “[With] Notting Hill, I think that I hung on to the diversity issue, to the feeling that I wouldn’t know how to write those parts. And I think I was just sort of stupid and wrong about that.”
Love Actually’s random weight jokes aren’t the only aspect that’s come under fire. On a far lighter note, Hugh Grant has admitted that he didn’t like shooting that dance scene one bit.
As for Curtis, he hasn’t made one of those Hugh Grant comedies in a while. In fact, his last screen credit was for the Beatles what-if? movie Yesterday, which is a whole other controversy unto itself.
Last season the Utah Jazz underwent a minimalistic design overhaul with their uniforms that included a Statement edition jersey made by Jordan brand. As part of the overall Nike deal, teams in the league with a Jordan brand jersey will also sell Jordan specific team merchandise that includes the iconic Jumpman logo.
However, for Utah Jazz fans, who lost two heartbreaking Finals series to Michael Jordan in the 90s, that partnership comes with some painful memories attached. Recently, a Jazz fan discovered a Jordan brand t-shirt at the Jazz team store that featured a giant Jumpman logo over the Utah Jazz, making it appear like Jordan was dunking on the Jazz once again. The shirt caused so much commotion among the fanbase that the Jazz removed the shirt from the team store, per Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune.
This is the proper fan reaction to a man that stood between the Jazz and their two best shots at an NBA championship. It’s been 25 years since those Finals series, but they have some of the most iconic shots and games in NBA history. Jazz fans can’t go very long watching NBA programming without seeing a highlight of Jordan ending their title hopes. For the fans that watched those series, that grudge may never end and they aren’t trying to see merch with Jordan’s logo jumping over their favorite team team. Jazz fans still take it personal, and no one would understand that better than Jordan himself.
SNL may be back, but they’re in a tiny bit of a pickle. The WGA strike is over and done, but their twin picketers over at the SAG-AFTRA are still out in the streets, fighting for their piece of the pie. As such, the show can’t do what it normally does: enlist big stars to promote some big movie or show. So far SNL brass has thought outside the box. Season 49 kicked off with returning alum Pete Davidson. This weekend Bad Bunny is pulling double duty as both host and musical guest, which sounds exhausting.
As for the third and final episode of the month, they’re again plucking from the world of standup. Grammy nominee Nate Bargatze, whose latest tour, “Be Funny,” and Amazon special, Hello World, have been both breaking records, will take over hosting duties. Uproxx has been on his beat since all the way back in 2015, when he was just a baby and during which he confessed that one of his favorite movies is, appropriately, a Scorsese (The Departed).
Bargatze will be joined by The Foo Fighters, who were supposed to appear last season during an episode hosted by Jennifer Coolidge. But that never happened, for the same reason the one Pete Davidson was supposed to host around the same time never happened.
The Bargatze/Foo Fighters episode will also be SNL‘s cusp-of-Halloween episode. Perhaps Tom Hanks will swing by once more to do David S. Pumpkins, although perhaps he should just do his controversial take on Colonel Tom Parker from Elvis.
When the freezing winds of autumn start swirling around you, you’ll need some way to warm yourself inside and out. And while a nice flannel shirt or winter hat does the trick, a warming spirit is even better. Sure, whiskey seems to be the most popular choice on a chilly fall day but you definitely shouldn’t overlook tequila. Especially long-aged, nuanced añejo tequila.
Tsuru Goto, food and beverage manager at Society Cafe in New York City has noticed an uptick in guests ordering añejo tequila this season. “Tequila is obviously experiencing some real growth right now, with a lot of guests starting to turn toward aged tequilas in fall.” Añejo tequila is matured between one and three years in charred oak. This longer aging time makes for a more complex, flavorful tequila with notes of vanilla beans, roasted agave, oak, and baking spices (among other flavors). Because of these flavors, añejos are a great choice to sip neat to warm you on a cool fall night.
To find the best expressions of the season, we asked a handful of well-known bartenders to tell us the best warming añejo tequilas to drink this fall. Keep scrolling to see all of their agave-based choices.
Tequila Ocho Single Barrel
Tequila Ocho
Joe Vandal, owner of Coa Cantina in Breckenridge, Colorado
The Tequila Ocho Single Barrel Añejo is one of my favorites. Sitting over 100-proof, it packs a punch in a good way. Some people are going to bark at me for this, but this juice makes an incredible Cadillac-style margarita as well. It shines bright in the cocktail.
Tasting Notes:
I still get cooked agave, vanilla, oak, and some warming pepper. It’s a very flavorful tequila that’s well-suited for sipping or mixing.
Fortaleza Añejo
Fortaleza
Alex Barbatsis, bar director at The Whistler in Chicago
If you can find a bottle, Fortaleza Añejo Tequila is a wonderful añejo tequila for fall drinking. It’s aged 18 months in American Oak barrels and is sure to warm you up. Try to track a bottle down soon.
Tasting Notes:
When you sip it, you’ll get big caramel and butterscotch notes along with a thick, cooked agave mouthfeel. A spicy finish adds to the warming feeling.
Casa Noble Añejo
Casa Noble
Tsuru Goto, food and beverage manager at Society Cafe in New York City
While there are some more commonly known brands out there, for our splurge sipper we’ve been going with Casa Noble. The quality of the wood they select for the aging process comes through in the balance of flavors.
Tasting Notes:
It’s an off-dry añejo with these nice flavors of orange marmalade, caramelized agave, dried red fruit, dark chocolate, and a hint of black pepper.
My pick is Calirosa Añejo. Aged for a minimum of eighteen months in barrels that formerly held red wine, it’s a warming, complex tequila well-suited for cold fall weather.
Tasting Notes:
Calirosa Añejo tequila has notes of toffee, cinnamon, and dried fruit. These amazing qualities would make this gem a fantastic companion to your book-by-the-fire experience, especially on a rainy fall evening with its soothing bouquet of warming spices of cinnamon and nutmeg.
Siete Leguas Añejo
Siete Leguas
Benjamin Brinton, general manager of Merriman’s in Waimea, Hawaii
I love Siete Leguas Añejo. Their entire line, across the board, is fantastic. Always agave forward with no additives (using additives is a total deal breaker for any serious tequila lover).
Tasting Notes:
It has a very clean flavor with balanced notes of vanilla and caramel, a little cinnamon and baking spice find their way in as well. The oak is very well-integrated and never overpowering for me.
Dulce Vida Extra Añejo
Dulce Vida
Wyn Vida, beverage director at Toshokan in Austin, Texas
When it comes to tequila, I will always be ready for an extra añejo. This fall, you’ll find me sipping Dulce Vida Extra Añejo, which I love because it is 100-proof and completely organic. I prefer it neat or on a large format ice cube so that you can note the flavors and characteristics that are unique to it.
Tasting Notes:
The flavor profile has strong vanilla and tobacco notes that are perfect for a cozy night, with warm cinnamon and butter topping it off. Gentle spices throughout are sure to keep you warm if a roaring fire doesn’t do the trick.
My new obsession is Tequila Komos Añejo Reserva. It is soft and smooth but doesn’t taste like a vanilla cupcake like a lot of popular tequilas do these days.
Tasting Notes:
It starts with black pepper and quickly goes to baking spices. All are warming and perfect for fall. For an añejo, it doesn’t hide the true agave flavor that many do.
Patron Sherry Cask Aged Añejo is my favorite because you can still taste the agave in the tequila, but you have the sweetness coming from the sherry cask which picks up many of those fall flavors that are recognizable.
Tasting Notes:
What flavors make it great? Pecans, vanilla, and clove all bring you into the fall season. The latter wraps you up like a blanket and adds an extra warming feel.
The Corralejo Añejo. It’s the slow-sipping tequila you’ve been waiting for in the fall. Freshly squeezed tangerine and lemon can lift these characters to their peak.
Tasting Notes:
This Tequila is very smooth in the mouth and has a combination of light butterscotch, vanilla, and fine wood spices making it slightly sweet. That being said, it has enough spice to warm you while you sip it slowly on a chilly night.
Teremana Añejo
Teremana
Resa Mueller, bartender at R&D Philly in Philadelphia
With the weather slowly getting colder and the gravitation towards comforting baking spice flavor notes across food and beverage, I look for an añejo tequila that still has some lightness to it with just enough from the barrel to make it feel cozy and inviting. Teremana Añejo hits the mark here.
Tasting Notes:
The vanilla, caramel, and toasted wood layer in on top of cooked agave to keep it light enough for one of those warmer days but still has enough body and flavor to stand out and warm you on a colder night. This tequila punches well above its weight, coming in at a relatively affordable price point so you don’t have to feel too guilty about having an extra pour to get you through the effects of the Daylight Savings Time change.
ArteNOM Seleccion de 1146 Añejo
ArteNOM
Vincent Bolognini, head bartender at Due West in New York City
With the weather cooling and the nights getting longer, I lean towards the ArteNOM Seleccion de 1146 Añejo. First matured for fourteen months in former Cabernet Franc wine barrels, it then spends another fourteen months in American white oak that originally held either Tennessee rye whiskey or Canadian whiskey depending on the batch.
Tasting Notes:
The nose has a beautiful aroma of baking spices and the first sip has a subtle sweetness with underlying tones of dark chocolate and orange zest; the finish is long, enticing, and very warming.
Olmeca Altos Añejo
Olmeca Altos
Dana Lachenmayer, head bartender at The Wesley in New York City
The recipient of many awards and for good reason, Olmeca Altos is my favorite añejo tequila to sip on this fall. Aging in smaller 200-liter bourbon barrels ensures a more complex flavor profile and a nice smooth landing.
Tasting Notes:
Notes of dried fruit, almond, caramel, and vanilla are balanced with subtle notes of black pepper, herbs, and a toasty quality. This is my go-to tequila to sip neat to warm me on an unseasonably cool evening.
For decades, the Indiana Pacers were the NBA’s model franchise in terms of projecting a steady and constant level of competence. In 1989, the team drafted George McLeod with the seventh overall pick. That was the last time, prior to the team’s selection of Bennedict Mathurin in 2022, that Indiana’s first-round draft slot was in the single digits. They’d win a lot of regular season games, make the playoffs a lot, and occasionally go on some sort of run.
All of this is to say that it’s a little odd that the Pacers haven’t made the postseason since 2020. If you’re going back to when they took McLeod, this is the second-longest playoff drought the team has experienced — they missed out four years in a row, from 2006-09. But the good news for the Pacers is that they have legitimate, and reasonable, playoff aspirations this year. Whether or not they reach those lofty goals in the ultra-competitive Eastern Confernece, though, remains to be seen.
Biggest Question: Can They Get Enough Stops?
The Pacers are going to be fun. Any team with Tyrese Haliburton is going to be a joy to watch on offense, as he’s high on the list of the most instinctive and creative playmakers in the world. He missed 26 games last season and had the fourth-most assists in all of basketball. He led the NBA, by some margin, in potential assists per game in 2022-23. Only Nikola Jokic made more passes per game than him. And on top of all that, Haliburton averaged a team and career-best 20.7 points per game. If you give the keys to him and let him go, Haliburton is going to give you a potent offense.
Add in that he is surrounded by plenty of talent on that end of the floor and the Pacers are going to be a nightmare to guard. Myles Turner had his best season as a pro alongside him, and while Buddy Hield requested a trade, Haliburton knows how to get him good looks from deep. Bennedict Mathurin has plenty of room to grow, but his eagerness to attack is, quite frankly, a little jarring. Obi Toppin and Bruce Brown are a pair of interesting offseason acquisitions who fit well — Toppin’s energy and relentlessness are a great fit, as is Brown’s basketball IQ and willingness to be a connecting piece.
The questions are going to come on the defensive end of the floor. Turner’s a good rim protector and Brown’s malleability are both major assets, Haliburton is great at reading passing lanes, and you can see Mathurin’s length and athleticism leading to him being a good defender as he becomes a more seasoned pro. Guys like Aaron Nesmith and Jordan Nwora are younger, athletic wings, while heady veterans like Daniel Theis and the extremely annoying (this is a compliment) T.J. McConnell are here.
They’re not going to be a good defensive team in all likelihood, but with how good Indiana’s offense is going to be, just getting to a point where they’re ok is enough.
X-Factor: Obi Toppin
Toppin was such a weird player in New York because he always seemed to provide a major spark, and despite that, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau just never fully trusted him. He’s not exactly the most defensively stout player in the league — see the Biggest Question section! — but Toppin is an impactful offensive player whose athleticism and willingness to hustle should make him a wonderful fit on this Indiana team.
Carlisle threw a ton of bodies at the 4 spot last year. Nesmith generally started alongside Turner in the frontcourt, Oshae Brissett was a frequent option in that spot off the bench, and Carlisle just pieced things together from there. Toppin, one would assume, is here to take the starting gig and inject a little more size into that group, while Nesmith can come off the bench as a 3-and-D wing option or small-ball 4. Plus having someone with NBA experience in that role who simultaneously fits on the team’s timeline lets them be patient with rookie forward Jarace Walker, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Ultimately, the big question with Toppin is whether he’s able to scale up the good stuff he did in New York (hustle, athleticism, shooting) in a role where he’s asked to play significant minutes. If he can, it stands to reason that Indiana is going to give him a nice payday next summer, and the team’s already exciting offense will be able to climb yet another level.
It’s that time of year, folks, the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection is here. The 2023 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC) is still one of the most anticipated and sought-after sets of whiskeys around. The five-bottle set includes three bourbons and two rye whiskeys that the whiskey world of collectors and drinkers clamor for so hard they’re often willing to pay significantly above MSRP just to get a taste.
That clamor also makes these whiskeys pretty hard to come by, especially for a novice whiskey drinker without some relationships in the industry. You kind of have to be in the know and have deep connections with your local whiskey bars and whiskey liquor stores to get your hands on these bottles. It’s not impossible to come by, don’t get me wrong, you’re just going to have to get lucky in a local lottery or pay a high price.
So is what’s in these bottles worth all that hubbub? Let’s answer that by actually diving into the uniqueness and taste of these whiskeys. After all, these are very unique-tasting whiskeys that, frankly, aren’t for everyone — that’s the whole point of elite whiskey. It’s designed to make an impact and not all drinkers will love that. Each one has its own vibe and flavor profile — making this about finding what speaks to you more than anything else.
Cool? Let’s dive in!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
This year’s batch of George T. Stagg was distilled in the spring of 2008 and left to rest in warehouses C, I, K, L, and M around the Frankfort Buffalo Trace campus. After 15 long years of rest, the barrels were batched and bottled 100% as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a classic sense of Cherry Coke, old leather tobacco pouches, and rich buttercream made with real vanilla next to fall leaves in an orchard and then this sense of Neoplotian ice cream creeps in that leans toward the strawberry and chocolate ice cream part.
Palate: The palate opens with a deep sense of an apple orchard on a cold fall day with leaves underfoot next to deeply-seeded dark cherry, cinnamon bark, clove buds, and allspice berries with a sense of the Neopolitan ice cream popping up again late.
Finish: The creamy vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry drive the finish back toward the old orchards, fall leaves, rickhouse floors, and soft cherry-spiced tobacco leaves rolled with cedar and smudging sage with a nice warming Kentucky hug on the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is the boldest whiskey on the list by far, and it’s meant to be. George T. Stagg fans love a bold slap in the face of a whiskey and this delivers that in spades. The key to this whiskey though is that it’s balanced. Yes, it’s a hot Kentucky hug on a hot summer day, but there’s enough pullback from that heat to reveal real nuance and depth with classic Buffalo Trace bourbon notes and more (that strawberry ice cream note is amazingly fun).
Still, this over a single large rock will be the way to go when sipping.
Sazerac Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey 18 Years Old
This year’s Sazerac is a “collection of rye whiskey barrels” that were filled in both the fall of 2004 and the spring of 2005, making this an 18-year-old rye with a touch of 19-year-old juice. Those barrels spent all of those years on the Buffalo Trace campus in warehouses K, L, and M before batching, proofing, and bottling otherwise as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Leathery spice barks draw you in on the nose with a deep sense of rye bread crusted with aniseed, clove-studded oranges, and a hint of sweet pear.
Palate: Classic notes of dark winter spice mingle with black pepper, cumin, and chili pepper powder on the palate as candied BBQ pork and new leather lead to a vanilla-laden mid-palate with a soft oakiness.
Finish: That soft oakiness leads to a light and fresh honey sweetness with a light sense of pine and cinnamon bark dipped in hot apple cider with a hint of barrelhouse lurking behind it all.
Bottom Line:
This is good rye whiskey. It’s light on the palate, which makes it very approachable while still delivering deep flavor notes. Those profile notes all speak to a classic Kentucky rye whiskey with a sense of sweetness just sneaking in to balance out all the aniseed, rye bread, and warming spices.
While this may sound like blasphemy to some, this would make an amazing Manhattan.
William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Proof
This is Buffalo Trace’s classic wheated bourbon. This year’s Weller BTAC was distilled back in the spring of 2011 and left to rest in warehouses C, L, M, and N for 12 long years. Those barrels were batched and this whiskey was bottled 100% as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Deep and dark candied black cherry mingles with dry cedar bark, molasses, real vanilla beans, nutty brown butter, and old leather rolled in pipe tobacco and just kissed with smoldering sage and dry chili pepper flakes.
Palate: The palate opens with a full blast of ABVs, making the front of your tongue tingle, as floral honey, cherry cobbler topped with vanilla ice cream, and brown butter streusel cut with nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove lead to a hint of dry orange tobacco.
Finish: Cinnamon sticks and clove buds floating in maple syrup arrive on the finish with a sense of old leather boots, the oak in an old rickhouse, orchard barks, and soft notes of vanilla and cherry cake.
Bottom Line:
This is quintessential Kentucky bourbon. It starts very warm but then fades through a beautiful array of classic bourbon notes towards a soft and lush finish that embraces you with soft cherry vanilla vibes. It’s a delight.
This is great neat but will really explode over a big ol’ rock.
This year’s Handy is straight rye (oddly “Kentucky” is missing from the label) comprised of barrels aged for over six years. Once those barrels were batched, this whiskey went into the bottles 100% as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Leathery orange rinds and hints of lemon poppyseed cake pop on the nose along with sappy pine bark, salted caramel, and cumin- and chili-laced leathery tobacco.
Palate: Dark rye bread appears on the front of the palate with a hint of molasses sweetness before the ABVs create a buzzing on the tongue with deep and dark orange marmalade, piney honey, soft vanilla oils, and a hint of potpourri leatheriness on the mid-palate.
Finish: That potpourri vibe mellowing fades on the finish as vanilla and star fruit arrive with a sense of dried chili and star anise hint at black licorice and sarsaparilla bark on the dry end.
Bottom Line:
This is interesting and tasty. The floral notes are dialed way back on the mid-palate as this leans more into pine, orange, and vanilla. It’s soft and supple but does pack a bit of a punch.
Overall, I can see this working nicely over the rocks as a slow sipper.
Eagle Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 17 Years Old
This year’s Eagle Rare ended up being 19 years and three months old (the “17 Years” on the label denotes the youngest barrels used for the brand overall). This year’s release was distilled and barreled back in the spring of 2004 and then left to rest all those years around the Buffalo Trace campuses in warehouses C, I, K, M, and Q. Once the barrels were batched, the whiskey was proofed and bottled as-is otherwise.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is like eating a moist and perfectly balanced Black Forest cake while walking through an old barrel house and out into a fallow fruit orchard with fall leaves crunchy underfoot and rain barely misty the air with hints of cinnamon cake, smudging sage, and sweetgrass rounding things out.
Palate: Orange cake and salted caramel lead on the palate with a sense of dark chocolate tobacco moving the mid-palate toward dry roasting herbs and a touch of nuttiness.
Finish: Cinnamon sticks and nutmeg pop up on the finish with a hint of vanilla buttercream and eggnog before the spices dry out with a sense of mince meat pie and old leather tobacco pouches.
Bottom Line:
This is damn good bourbon. It’s not reinventing the wheel but it is nailing the concept. It’s so easy to drink while still offering a seriously deep and nuanced experience from top to bottom.
I’d drink this neat any day of the week. A little water or a single rock will help it bloom in the glass, adding to the nuttiness and creaminess of the pour.
Final Thoughts on the 2023 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection
Sazerac Company
This was an interesting set of whiskeys. Of course, if you can score these at MSRP, you’ll be in for a treat. But again, that’ll only be likely via lottery. Otherwise, expect to pay thousands for some of these.
Prices aside, these are good whiskeys and deserve the hype they get. If I had to pick a favorite, I’d have to go with the Weller or maybe the Stagg this year. I did like the Handy and Sazerac though — both are stellar examples of how varied American rye whiskey is. And the Eagle Rare is just a straight-up classic — the old faithful of the group.
Julia Fox has one of several celebrity memoirs that are freshly in circulation. She isn’t oversharing nearly as much as a certain someone else, but it’s the nature of a memoir to, you know, reveal. As such, Julia has shared subjects like dominatrix tips for latex wearers, and of course, she had to discuss her situationship with Kanye West.
Thus far, she has revealed why there’s no sex stuff in the memoir — because there was no sex stuff between Julia and Kanye: “It wasn’t really about that.” And as she told Drew Barrymore this week, Kanye still wanted her attention 24/7, and as a new mom, that’s a nope. So she cut things short, via Decider:
“I had my son, and then he want to talk on the phone a lot, and I’d have to change diapers … I bought a pair of AirPods so I could keep it in while I was doing mom stuff. It was so overwhelming and so unsustainable …. Ultimately, I cannot put anybody else first. My son has to be first. It just became too much. I didn’t sign up to have two babies. I couldn’t do it. It felt like two babies.”
Julia Fox opens up about dating “The Artist” and why things didn’t work out.
This sounds like zero fun. Fox also revealed that she imagined their relationship would stay secret, but that someone (“it wasn’t me”) leaked the scoop, and the rest was coordinated wardrobe-hell history. Fox has also declared that Kanye wanted her to get a “boob job” and that she only agreed to date him so that he’d leave Kim Kardashian alone.
Last month, the Rolling Stones announced their first new album in 18 years. Hackney Diamonds will be the long-running band’s 26th(!!) studio album, marks their 61st year as a group, and will feature new songs with the likes of Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder.
With the new album dropping this Friday, October 20, you might be wondering…
Will The Rolling Stones Go On Tour For Hackney Diamonds?
… and look: There’s no such thing as a dumb question, but the answer to this one should be fairly obvious for anyone with any knowledge of the Rolling Stones.
Of course, they are.
While it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that the endlessly touring band would support their first album in almost two decades with another road trip, Keith Richards confirmed as much in a new interview with the BBC. They’ll be hitting the road next year, he says, provided “everybody is still standing.”
That seems likely, as Richards enthused, “We’re all in good fettle. We’re not looking at each other and saying, ‘time’s up’.” Aside from the fine reminder that Richards turns 80 this year (who says “fettle” anymore, Keith?), it’s a good sign that the group’s going to keep going ’til one — or all — of them drop. “Of course, it’s going to end sometime,” he said, “but there’s no particular rush.”
I know the headline and packaging of this post might come off a little corny and manipulative. It’s got hyperbole and a ranking and all the classic little tricks to get people to click. I know that. I did it on purpose. For, what I think, is a noble reason: I watched Bottoms this past weekend and it made me very happy and I would like to cast the widest possible net of people who might click on this and watch it too and experience that same kind of happiness. The game is the game. I’m just trying to juice the odds a bit. I feel okay about it.
So, yes, there will be a ranking here. I would like you to read it. But if “yo, Bottoms is weird and crazy and outrageously funny and like 90 minutes long and you deserve a little treat on a Friday or Saturday night” is enough to sell you, that’s fine, too. I just want people to watch this chaotic-ass little comedy where a couple of teenagers try to hook up with cheerleaders and end up blowing up cars and fighting entire football teams.
We’ll get to that. Some of it, at least. I refuse to spoil the weirdest parts of this for you. You deserve to see it all with fresh eyes, too.
5. The premise is pretty much a perfect little paragraph
Here’s how the movie studio that made Bottoms describes it on their own website:
In this refreshingly unique comedy, two girls, PJ and Josie, start a fight club as a way to lose their virginities to cheerleaders. And their bizarre plan works! The fight club gains traction, and soon the most popular girls in school are beating each other up in the name of self-defense. But PJ and Josie find themselves in over their heads and in need of a way out before their plan is exposed.
What we have here:
A high school comedy about two teenage girls who kind of accidentally start a fight club in an attempt to woo popular cheerleaders and lose their virginity before heading off to college
A secret they are both trying to keep hidden that could unravel the whole thing
This is somehow both an accurate description of what is happening here and just a massive underselling of how weird things get. But it’s a good foundation to build upon. And even if that’s all Bottoms was, it would still be fun. But it is so much more. Like, consider this…
4. Marshawn Lynch plays their teacher and faculty advisor
MGM
Yes, he does. Former NFL All-Pro running back Marshawn Lynch, whose most famous on-field moment featured him back-flopping into the end zone while grabbing his crotch, plays one of the only adult characters in the movie. And he is so good. Like… so, so good. His delivery of just about every line he’s asked to deliver is just beautiful. Which is saying something, because a lot of the lines he’s asked to deliver could twist-up a veteran comedic actor. I really cannot stress this in strong enough terms: Marshawn Lynch whips an incredible amount of ass in Bottoms.
But this is where you’re probably thinking “Hold on, Brian. You said he plays their teacher but he is very clearly swearing and holding a pornographic magazine called Divorced & Happy in the screencap. So, like, what the hell?”
Excellent question. And it brings me to the number three reason Bottoms might be the funniest movie of 2023…
3. It is just massively deranged in the best ways
This is the hardest part to explain. The closest I’ve come to getting there is “it somehow is both an earnest movie about high school and also a satire of a movie about high school.” It’s weird. In a good way. So, like, yes, it is a little bit “every high school movie you’ve ever seen about horny teens trying to hook up” but also, like, the high school football hero gets served steak at lunch while everyone else eats slop. The teachers and students just casually swear at each other. There are, like, murders and property damage and it’s all just fine. You kind of have to accept the universe the movie exists inside and then proceed from there.
I need you to keep an open mind on this part. The movie is both very smart and just outrageously stupid. This is often how many of my favorite things work.
2. Ayo Edebiri is a goddamn star
MGM
So the movie was co-written by the team of Rachel Sennott and Emma Seligman, the former of whom is one of the leads and the latter of whom directs, and I want to be sure to stop here and credit them with creating one of the most original things I’ve seen in years, but Ayo Edebiri is in this movie and she’s just a damn star.
In explaining her choices as an actor, Edebiri quoted something she remembered Moss-Bachrach once saying to her: “It’s boring to play characters who are happy.” Earlier this year, she appeared on “Abbott Elementary,” Quinta Brunson’s mockumentary sitcom about teachers at a public school in Philadelphia, as Ayesha, sister to Brunson’s Janine. She was borderline gleeful as she described why the role appealed to her: “I’m going on a show I love, and I’m playing a person who has an estranged relationship with her sister, and she hates that the cameras are there?” She laughed delightedly. Beyond “Abbott,” most of Edebiri’s characters are women with complex motivations that occasionally lead them to make messy choices, as when Sydney quits mid-service after an argument with Carmy. In such moments, Edebiri is able to communicate Sydney’s vulnerability, anger, and fear, all at the same time.
But it’s still worth stating: Ayo Edebiri rules so hard in Bottoms, somehow genuine and awkward and silly and everything a movie this ridiculous needs to survive. This all becomes Not Another Teen Movie in lesser hands. I am genuinely excited to see where her career goes next. I’m glad it stopped here first, though.
Oh, also worth noting: That screencap up there, the one about playing the long game with her crush? Please know that this sets off a 90-second monologue that covers the next 20 years and opens with this as the first step…
MGM
To recap where we are so far:
Bottoms is good
Ayo is a star
Marshawn Lynch should be in more movies
Which brings us to my number one reason…
1. Holy crap, it is so funny
Hmm. I know it’s probably cheating to make my number one reason I think Bottoms is the funniest movie of 2023 “because it is funny,” but whatever. Fight me. Actually, no. Please do not fight me. There is enough violence in Bottoms already. But do listen to me.
Let me put it like this, which is kind of the thing that made me realize how much I liked Bottoms. It’s easy to become a little jaded when you have a job like I have where you watch a massive amount of movies and shows. You can feel like you’ve seen everything. Even worse, your sense of comedy can get warped in the way where you see something funny happen on the screen and respond by saying “that’s funny” instead of actually, like, laughing. I hate that. It stinks.
Well, Bottoms had me laughing out loud and smiling like a goof for a whole Saturday night. It comes with my highest possible recommendation. I’m sorry again if I manipulated you into clicking on this but it really is important.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
