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As you probably know from reading past articles, there’s no time of year when we stop drinking IPAs. West Coast, New England-style, milkshake, and imperial IPAs, we love them all. But, during the cold winter months, we especially enjoy cold IPAs.

Back in 2018, Portland, Oregon’s Wayfinder created the style when it launched its bold, hoppy, resinous Relapse IPA. Since then, brewers from coast to coast have tried their hand at this style that, in the simplest terms, is made by fermenting at a much lower temperature than other IPAs on the market. This is similar to the way ales are brewed. The result is a crisp, bitter, floral, dank, citrus, and tropical fruit-filled IPA delicious any time of year — especially great as a respite from the cold winter wind.

Since we’ve mentioned its wintry appeal, it’s time to actually find some cold IPAs to imbibe. That’s why we decided to pick eight popular riffs on the style and rank them based on flavor and seasonal appeal. Keep reading to see them all.

8) 10 Barrel Rock Hop

ABV: 7.1%

Average Price: $10.99 for a six-pack

The Beer:

This 7.1% cold IPA is known for its citrus and dank pine with surprisingly low bitterness due to the addition of Azacca, El Dorado, Idaho 7, and Cashmere hops. As a bonus, a portion of sales goes to Trailkeepers of Oregon, a not-for-profit that works to maintain hiking trails in the state.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a ton of orange peel and pine on the nose but really not much else. The palate continues this trend with some light tropical fruit flavors paired with the citrus and dank, slightly bitter pine needles at the finish. Overall, it’s sort of bland and lacks the crisp flavor profile we expect in a cold IPA.

Bottom Line:

This isn’t a bad beer. It’s also not a great beer. It’s just kind of an okay beer. This is mostly because, while it calls itself a cold IPA, it doesn’t really taste that much like one.

7) Smuttynose Ice Dam(n)

ABV: 6%

Average Price: $11.50 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

This beer is known for being a crisp, flavorful IPA that bridges the gap between West Coast and East Coast IPAs. It’s brewed with 2-row and Carahell acidulated malts as well as Chico yeast and flaked rice. It gets its hop flavor and aroma from the addition of Hüll Melon and Centennial hops.

Tasting Notes:

It smells like a classic IPA. Tropical fruits, citrus peels, and pine needles are prevalent on the nose. Sadly, the palate isn’t as exceptional. While it has some tropical fruit, citrus flavors, and some light malt flavor, the bitter, piney hops are a little too much at the forefront and overpower the other flavors.

Bottom Line:

This beer would benefit from a little more balance between the hop bitterness and the malts and fruit and citrus flavors.

6) Sweetwater Glacial

ABV: 6.3%

Average Price: $10.99 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Sweetwater is well-known for its IPA brewing prowess. And while you can’t go wrong with any of its popular year-round brews, during the winter months we prefer this cold dry-hopped, Cryo hop IPA that is known for its crisp, dry, refreshing flavor profile.

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, you’ll find grapefruit, tangerine, light malts, and floral, dank, piney hops. Drinking it reveals notes of brown bread, grapefruit, pineapple, orange peel, and resinous, earthy, herbal, pine needles. The finish is dry, crisp, and slightly bitter.

Bottom Line:

This is a decent take on the cold IPA style. It’s crisp and has a nice malt backbone. Its only downfall was that it’s just not all that exciting in terms of overall flavor.

5) August Schell Fresh Prints

ABV: 6.5%

Average Price: $10 for a six-pack

The Beer:

This 6.5% cold IPA is like a ramped-up version of a classic West Coast IPA. Like other cold IPAs, it’s cold fermented like an ale and carries tropical fruit, citrus, and crisp, pilsner-like flavors. What’s not to love on a cold winter night?

Tasting Notes:

A lot is going on with this beer’s nose. Guava, mango, pineapple, bready malts, grapefruit, and herbal, earthy, piney hops aromas greet you. The palate continues this flavorful trend with lemongrass, honeydew melon, grapefruit, pineapple, freshly baked bread, and dank, slightly bitter pine. The finish is crisp and lightly bitter.

Bottom Line:

This is a well-balanced, flavorful IPA. It’s kind of like a West Coast IPA with an edge. It tastes like you mixed a lager and a piney, bitter IPA.

4) Rogue Knuckle Buster

ABV: 6.1%

Average Price: $11.50 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Available from January through April, this popular cold IPA is brewed with Superior Pils and flaked rice as well as a melange of hops including Hallertauer Blanc, Belma, Nelson Sauvin, Motueka, Comet, and Cascade hops.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is all wet grass, freshly baked bread, citrus peels, and floral, herbal hops are potent on the nose. The palate is loaded with tropical fruits, citrus, bready malts, and resinous, dank hops that tie everything together nicely. It’s dry, lightly bitter, and surprisingly easy to drink.

Bottom Line:

This is the cold IPA for the classic IPA fans. Especially those who want a nice, crisp, hoppy beer to drink while they watch football.

3) Karl Strauss What’s Cooler Than Being Cool

ABV: 6.9%

Average Price: $13 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

This aptly named cold IPA is brewed with 2-row malts as well as Citra, Cascade, El Dorado, and Mosaic hops. It’s brewed at a lower temperature with lager yeast and the addition of flaked corn gives it the crisp flavor of a classic pilsner.

Tasting Notes:

The aroma is cereal grains, sweet corn, grapefruit, lemon, wet grass, bready malts, and bright piney hops. Sipping it brings forth notes of sweet grains, freshly baked bread, pineapple. Grapefruit, tangerine, and gently bitter, herbal, dank hops at the finish. It tastes like you mixed a pilsner and West Coast IPA together in the best way possible.

Bottom Line:

This cold IPA has a nice balance of bready malts, citrus peels, and dank pine. Everything seems to be working in perfect harmony.

2) Wayfinder Original Cold IPA

ABV: 7%

Average Price: $5.99 for a 16-ounce can

The Beer:

As we mentioned before, Wayfinder invented the Cold IPA back in 2018 when it released Wayfinder Relapse IPA. This beer, brewed to pay homage to Relapse Records was the brewery’s attempt to make an “extreme” version of the classic West Coast IPA. Now, this crisp, clean IPA is called Original Cold IPA.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a ton of tropical fruit and citrus in this beer’s nose. It’s highlighted by tangerine, grapefruit, mango, guava, and peach flavors. This is paired with caramel malts, and light, herbal pine. This is all carried onto the palate where grapefruit, orange peels, lemon zest, peach, pineapple, mango, sweet malts, and dry, slightly bitter hops take center stage.

Bottom Line:

It’s tough to beat the OG. This cold IPA is fruity, piney, slightly bitter, and has just the right amount of drying crispness at the finish.

1) Fremont Legend

ABV: 7%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

The year-round offering from the folks at Fremont features 2-row Pale and Pilsner malts as well as flaked corn, Citra, Centennial, Citra Cryo, and Strata hops. The result is a fruity, citrus-filled, slightly bitter IPA well-suited for any time of year.

Tasting Notes:

Ripe berries, wet grass, caramelized pineapple, peach, grapefruit, orange zest, and floral, herbal, and earthy pine is prevalent on the nose. The palate continues this trend with a ton of caramel malt flavor up front followed by tangerine, pineapple, peach, mango, wet grass, and gently bitter, piney hops.

Bottom Line:

When it comes to well-balanced, crisp, flavorful cold IPAs, you’ll have a hard time finding one better than Fremont Legend. It might not be the first, but it’s arguably the best.

It was only a few months ago that Apple announced a new line of products that included their iPhones (14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max models), Apple Watches (Series 8, SE, and Ultra models), and the AirPods Pro 2nd generation. The average Apple consumer may not have expected to hear about new products from the tech giant for a few months but, lo and behold, Apple arrived with a surprise to kick off their 2023 year.

With iOS 15 and the iPhone 15 line set to arrive later this year, Apple started things by unveiling a new MacBook Pro and the HomePod 2nd generation. Here’s everything you need to know about the news.

MacBook Pro

First up: new MacBooks. Apple announced 14- and 16-in models of its MacBook Pros, complete with its latest M2 Pro and M2 Max chips. We’ll get into the differences between the chips in a second, but overall, the MacBooks boast some promising features. Apple claims the 14-inch model has quite a healthy battery life; 18 hours of video playback and 12 hours of wireless web browsing.

The 16-inch model holds what Apple claims is the “longest battery life ever in a Mac” thanks to 22 hours of video playback and 15 hours of wireless web browsing. These numbers are based on tests conducted with the M2 Pro chip. Both MacBook Pro models include Wi-Fi 6E and a “more advanced HDMI” that supports 8K displays up to 60Hz and 4K displays up to 240Hz.

M2 Pro

The M2 Pro chip launches with a 12-core CPU, up to 19-core GPU, and up to 32GB of unified memory. It also has twice the transistors that the M2 chip had and 20 percent more than the M1 Pro. The M2 Pro chip also has 200GB/s of unified memory bandwidth and Apple claims that the chip can “process images in Adobe Photoshop up to 40 percent faster than with M1 Pro, and as much as 80 percent faster than MacBook Pro with an Intel Core i9 processor.”

M2 Max

The M2 Max chip boasts up to 38 cores of GPU power and support for up to 96GB of unified memory. The chip has the same 12-core CPU as the M2 Pro, but it puts out much more GPU power. Apple says the M2 Max chip is 30% faster than the M1 chip in graphics and that it can “tackle graphics-intensive projects that competing systems can’t even run.”

Now that we got all the technical details out of the way, here’s the most important info. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro starts at $1,999, with the 16-inch model starting at $2,499. Both are available to pre-order on Apple and they’ll both appear in Apple stores on January 24. You can also watch a 19-minute video about M2 Pro and M2 Max chips from Apple here.

You can view more info on the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro’s M2 Pro and M2 Max chips here.

HomePod 2nd Generation

Here we have the 2nd generation HomePod from Apple. The latest generation comes almost five years after Apple debuted the first model and a little over two years since Apple released the HomePod Mini. The new model is wrapped in mesh fabric with a backlit touchscreen top, just like the HomePod Mini. In addition to the traditional white model, the HomePod 2 also comes in midnight and both colors come with cables in the matching color.

As expected, the biggest improvements are on the inside of the speaker. The new model is powered by an S7 processor for computational audio, a high-excursion woofer, an internal bass-EQ mic, and an array of five tweeters. With all this together, Apple claims that you’ll get a “groundbreaking listening experience” with the HomePod 2. Furthermore, the HomePod carries a new room-sensing technology. It now has the ability to recognize sound reflections from nearby surfaces and determine if it’s against a wall or standing in an open space and adjust the sound accordingly. The HomePod 2 can be paired with another HomePod 2 model or with the HomePod Mini, but it can not be paired with the HomePod 1.

Users can also hand off media from their iPhones to the HomePod, as they’ve been able to do with the HomePod Mini.

As if things weren’t great already with the HomePod 2, you’ll eventually be able to use the device to listen for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms thanks to the Sound Recognition feature. It’s not available at the moment, but it will come in an update for the device in June. Ultimately, the way it works is if the HomePod 2 detects these sounds, it will send a notification to your iPhone immediately. Lastly, a new temperature and humidity sensor allow you to measure indoor environments to have the air conditioning turned on or off at a certain temperature and Siri will still answer your neverending requests.

Now that you’re aware of all the technical features, here’s the price: the HomePod 2 checks in at $299. It’s available for pre-order now and it will hit store shelves on February 3.

You can view more info on the HomePod 2 here.

Every day for the past month-plus, there’s been one, two, sometimes three bizarre allegations about George Santos. The newly sworn-in GOP representative has been busted embellishing or lying about his résumé, his history, even his mom’s death. He’s also been accused of some truly alarming, leftfield deeds. On Tuesday, a story alleged that he stole money from a GoFundMe to save a dying dog’s life. (The dog later died.) Now it’s alleged one of the latest members of the anti-drag queen party used to be…a drag queen.

MSNBC contributor Marisa Kabas took to Twitter Wednesday, saying she spoke with a Brazilian drag queen named Eula Rochard. She claims to have been friends with Santos when he used to in near Rio. But “George Santos” is not what she — or, she said, anyone — called him.

“She said everyone knew him as Anthony (*never* George), or by his drag name, Kitara, and confirms this photo is from a 2008 drag show at Icaraí Beach,” Kabas posted, alongside a fuzzy picture of two drag queens, one believed to be Santos, if that is his real name.

Rochard told Kabas that she first befriended Santos when he was a teenager “because they were both gay and enjoyed drag.” When Santos became a prolific news fixture due to the many, many, many allegations against him, she realized it was the same person. No one believed her, so she dug into her old photos and found the one since posted by Kabas on social media.

When the story was made public, the news left some thinking they wouldn’t be surprised by any Santos story, no matter how creatively leftfield, at this point.

Some were impressed by how prolific the guy is.

Others noted that the revelations come at a time when the party to which he belongs has been on not only an anti-LGTBQIA+ tirade, but had singled out drag queens as some kind of menace — even after far right domestic terrorists had shot up places holding drag queen performances.

Santos will probably do what he’s done after every single other of the many allegations against him: Nothing. Ditto GOP highers-up, who have placed him on committees despite his alleged deceptions.

Still, some noted, the guy sure has a lot of aliases at this point.

At least there’s finally a picture of Santos not wearing a sweater.

Some were even impressed that he now has a drag queen story to his rap sheet.

There’s a good argument to be made that Eric Ripert is among the preeminent seafood chefs in world. Certainly in the world of Western cuisine, though I’m virtually certain he would disclaim any such accolade. His flagship restaurant, Le Bernardin, in midtown Manhattan, has been at the top of the seafood game for decades—its three Michelin stars make it, by at least that one measure, among the very best restaurants in New York City.

Owing both to his own substantial success as a chef and his connection with the late Anthony Bourdain—their friendship was featured in caricatured form over more than a decade on the late chef and TV host’s shows—he has achieved a level of fame to which most of the world’s top chefs will only ever aspire. Which is why when this landlubber (pirate sic) had the opportunity to sit down with Ripert at the Ritz Carlton in Grand Cayman—home to his other seafood-forward joint, Blue—to talk food, fish, and more, I leaped at the opportunity.

Seafood holds an interesting place in my life — I grew up in eastern Oklahoma and although my father is an excellent cook and a seafood lover, and I’ve since lived all over the world, mostly near an ocean, the gene seems to have skipped a generation. I’ll almost always reach for anything but an animal that once lived in the water. But when Eric Ripert is excited about something it’s very easy to share that buzz — so I came at him ready for a very seafood-focused chat.

One more note — at the time of my interview with Ripert, I’d spent the morning kayaking around the mangroves accessible right outside the back of the Ritz. I was late coming back, so I ran to my room for a lightning-fast shower and shave, then ran down to the bar to wait for the chef who found me sitting at a table with my notepad, dabbing vodka on my neck.

I know this looks really weird. I don’t have any aftershave, so I just bought a shot of vodka and … well, that’s why I’m dabbing a shot of vodka on my neck.

Quite fine….

Old traveler’s trick….

Yeah….perfect…..

How was your afternoon?

My afternoon is good. I was just in the kitchen and came up to see you.

Do you have a favorite knife?

[Long pause.] No. I do not. I have many different knives that I enjoy very much. But knives are very different depending on what you are doing, depending on the use. So I have some Takamura knives, which are made in Japan by the Takamura brothers, where I went to take my knives from the factory. It takes them three to four years to make a knife. The blade is all sculpted. So those knives could be my favorite, but they are not, because I don’t use them that much — though they are very special to me.

I use a lot of a brand called MAC. It’s Japanese, made in Japan as well but it’s designed for Westerners. The way Western chefs use the knife is very different from the Japanese. The cuts are different. I like MAC a lot but at home, I have some Wüstoffs for the family and myself, which I think are my favorite to share with the family. And again I have many, many different obscure Japanese names, so… I have a lot of knives.

What is your process for creating a new dish, evaluating progress, and coming up with ideas?

Creativity is very difficult. It’s not difficult in itself, but it’s very difficult to know when you can be creative and when you’re not gonna be creative. I mean, you cannot push a button and say, “I’m creative” and push a button to say “I’m stopping to be creative.” So you basically have to create a certain soil for creativity where your ideas are going to come out, like seeds.

I have the luck to live in New York, which is, as you know, a melting pot of cultures. It’s basically the UN in the street. And I interact with a lot of chefs from other countries. I see different products from other countries. I learn different techniques; new flavors. And I have the luck to travel. I go to Asia or the Caribbean or Europe. I was in Italy this summer. I basically absorb a lot when I go in the streets. I don’t necessarily force myself to come up with ideas. It’s the period when I’m absorbing.

And when I come back, I carry a paper with me very often, or next to my bed, and ideas for me come whenever they want. It’s a visual flash for me. It’s hard to say that I see the flavors and I see the dish—it comes as a visual flash. And a lot of friends of mine have a different way of getting creative. Some of them are very particular and very organized and take notes on plants. And me, I wait for the flash.

Can you describe that visual flash in detail?

I’m gonna describe for you something interesting. I was in Sweden a long time ago and I was eating with a friend of mine, who is creative too, he is a chef, and we were eating in a restaurant and they gave us, I remember, deer, rare, cooked very rare. And it was flat on the plate and it was an appetizer, and I had a flash of tuna carpaccio with foie gras. But it hits me in the head so strongly that my friend could feel it. And he told me, he said, “I know what you’re thinking of?”

I said, “What am I thinking of?”

He said, “You’re thinking of tuna carpaccio.

I said, “How do you know!?”

He said it was so strong. He said, “I’m gonna do it before you.”

At the time he was a chef in San Francisco, at Aqua, a two-star Michelin.

And I said, “Well I’m gonna do it before, I know how to make it. I had the flash.”

So I took some notes and went back to New York, and in one shot the dish came out. Sometimes I have a flash and the dish never comes out because it’s a mediocre idea—intellectually it makes sense but when you put it on the table or start to work with the ingredients, it doesn’t work. Sometimes it takes me years and years from the idea to create the dish. Sometimes it takes a week. Sometimes in one shot. But that one was one shot and that is exactly the perfect description. And that dish became a signature dish of Blue and Le Bernardin.

What do you like to cook for your friends and family?

Depends on the season…

Or I should start by asking, do you like to cook for your friends and family?

Yes, haha, I do. I do on the weekend because during the week I am at the restaurant. And I try to always go out one day and the second day I cook. So like I said it depends on the season. I have a country house in Long Island. Two hours from New York, next to Montauk. We have a lot of farms there in the summer, so I have a tendency to go to the farm stands in the morning and buy way too many things. My cooking is a lot about vegetables. And I do a lot of different preparations and recipes.

We put it in the middle of a long table and we invite friends. It’s very convivial, we share. It’s casual but very, very vegetable oriented. In the winter, a lot of braised meats, and coq au vin, chicken braised in red wine. And sometimes I just want to cook fish like at the restaurant. But my cooking is very different from at the restaurant — it’s never like fine dining type cooking, it’s more like home food. Home cooking.

Speaking of vegetables, I wonder if you feel like a vegetable stock can ever achieve the depth of a—

Yes

of a meat stock?

Yes. absolutely. Absolutely it can. You have to use ingredients that have a lot of umami, or that brings a lot of flavors that are, like, coming from the soil. For instance, if you do a broth and you want to have meat flavors, a little bit of soy sauce, some mushroom, dried, fresh. And then if you really want to make it even richer and really seal those flavors and make it meaty, you put a little bit of lentils. The starch of the lentils and the iron that is in the vegetables—the lentils have the characteristic of bringing some artificial, natural obviously, meaty flavor, like coming from a beef flavor. So you can do that, absolutely.

Maybe a somewhat related question. Has Buddhism influenced your cooking at all? Or influenced you as a chef?

Yes, in many ways. Also it’s a conflict for me because I have a seafood restaurant so we kill animals to feed happy people, but I decided that I have two possibilities. I go completely vegan with the restaurant, and I believe it would be very challenging for us to do that after being so famous for seafood, and we could take the risk of closing and not making a difference in the world because nobody would care. So what I did, I created a vegetarian menu that changes with the seasons or when we have good ideas.

I also did a book, a cookbook called Vegetable Simple to basically compensate a little bit for what I’m doing with the rest of the ingredients, which are many seafoods. So I’m a little conflicted, but yes. Buddhism has changed the way I cook. Because I understand more the meditative process when I’m cooking, which is to be in the present, not think about the past, and not think about the future. It’s very much in this moment now. And the respect of cooks for all animals the respect for the planet and even plants and so on. I have much more appreciation today than when I started my career when I was not a Buddhist. And also cooking at the restaurant is different than cooking by myself, and Buddhism helps me to interact with my team, and—in a very secular way, I’m not trying to convert the team to Buddhism, that would be wrong—but whenever I think it’s something that makes us a better person or makes a better ambiance for a person to blossom, I basically used the teaching, find ways to deliver the message in a different secular way and that has changed my way of also cooking with my team.

The stereotype of a kitchen is that there’s a militaristic, regimented hierarchy; a lot of negativity from chefs, anger, throwing pans around, and that sort of thing.

Yes. Until you realize that anger is not a quality, it’s a weakness, you’re in trouble. And your team will not like you and will not enjoy their experience. If you come by tonight at Blue, come by at any moment at your leisure, you’re gonna see a kitchen that is very peaceful. [NOTE: I did. It was.]

Doesn’t mean that we don’t have stress, because of course we have stress, but we manage it. We make sure that the ambiance in the kitchen is good because even if you are just selfish and you want your team to be very efficient, a cook who is shaking like that and is afraid is not gonna cook better than a guy who is very precise and inspired and enjoys what he’s doing. Yeah, kitchens are by definition a hostile environment because sometimes it’s wet it’s very humid, it’s very hot, there are a lot of sharp objects, but we are in this field because we love what we do and with all the adrenaline and the rush that we have during the service and so on. You can be in this environment and direct a kitchen in a kind way. When I say in a kind way, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have to be firm. And it doesn’t mean that if someone burns the fish three times you gonna say, “Listen it would be very nice if you don’t burn it.”

You have to be firm, you are in the leading position as a chef but it’s understood that it’s a lot of kindness between us, a lot of respect, and obviously compassion. But compassion doesn’t mean that you have to close your eyes and accept everything. A compassionate attitude is a respectful attitude and thinking about the well-being of the cooks or waiters.

I grew up in Oklahoma, in the middle of the United States, not eating very much seafood and for the longest time, I just thought I didn’t like seafood at all. There’s that fishy taste in particular that some fish has that to me is extremely off-putting. But the other day here at the Ritz in Grand Cayman I had this red snapper that is, I think, local to here, and I’ve had it at every meal since, and it’s like a revelation.

So, fish, first of all, should never smell fishy, and should never taste fishy. When fish is very fresh it’s basically like smelling—it’s almost like smelling, but also in the form of eating, it’s like high tide in the ocean when you are walking, and it’s like pure waters, and it’s windy, and you walk and the salt and the wind brings the smell of the ocean to you. It’s very pleasant. That’s what you should recognize in a fish.

As soon as a fish starts to get older fishiness increases and very fishy fish is a very old fish. So very often people don’t have access to very fresh fish, so, therefore, they think fish is fishy but fish is not fishy.

What is fresh to you?

It all depends. Usually fresh is within 24 hours — when you catch the fish and keep it in very good conditions. Keeping it in good condition means understanding that it has to stay cold temperatures and many other techniques that we use to make sure that in a quick manner we process the fish and it’s served to you. But some fish, like if you eat skate, for instance, you eat the muscle of the wing. If you eat it too fresh, they are too tough, you cannot eat them, so you have to let them relax for a few days.

But most of the time within 24 hours.

Is there a particular fish that you like to cook?

It’s like asking a father what’s your favorite child. So I do not really. Every fish has different characteristics. I love lobster. I love scallops. Those are not fish but they are in the seafood category. I love tuna, but the snapper you had is delicious. I don’t really.

Is there something at Blue, in particular, you’d be excited about me experiencing?

Tonight I want you to try the carpaccio of tuna with foil gras. Make an effort. If you don’t like it we’ll give you something else. But that way you can relate to my story. I think you should take that shot.

As everyone knows from the Terminator franchise, you can’t keep homicidal AI down. The same applies to M3GAN, who didn’t fare well (in her physical form, at least) by the end of the James Wan and Jason Blumhouse-produced January 2022 release, but she’ll “be back.” Wan does have a way with murderous dolls, as he proved with The Conjuring franchise, where Annabelle gave Chucky a run for his overall-stuffed, well, you know.

In other words, running over the murder doll isn’t as easy as it sounds. Variety reports that M3GAN will live, or reboot, or further upgrade, in a 2025 sequel. The film appears to be called M3GAN 2.0, at least until she makes some changes to the programming:

Screenwriter Akela Cooper is returning to pen the sequel. Plot details haven’t been revealed, though Allison Williams, whose character helped bring to life the chaotic AI-like doll, will be back for “2.0” as will M3GAN’s pint-sized bestie, played by Violet McGraw. Gerard Johnstone directed the first film, but a director has not been announced for the sequel.

As The Hollywood Reporter notes, the film’s still cranking away in theaters with $91.9 total gross worldwide, which is a fantastic turnaround from a film with a $12 million budget. Horror still knows how to keep things cheap and effective. Really, just ask Skinamarink, if you dare.

(Via Variety, Hollywood Reporter & Deadline)

Over the last handful of years, Aubrey Plaza has turned into one of our most versatile actresses. On The White Lotus, she’s great as a self-hating member of the nouveau riche, just as she’s fantastic as a desperate woman embracing her dark side in Emily the Criminal. But the world first got to know the former April Ludgate thanks to her fearless, unhinged comedic chops. That side of her will surely be on display when she finally hosts SNL for the first time this weekend. And it’s already there even in the new promo for her big episode.

It finds this week’s host talking shop with cast member Chloe Fineman, who turned heads late last year for her spot-on take on Plaza’s White Lotus colleague Jennifer Coolidge. In the ad, Plaza compliments Fineman some of her other impersonations, including her top shelf Drew Barrymore. So Plaza shows Fineman some of her own.

Fineman isn’t as blown away by Plaza as Plaza is with her, but mostly because she’s chosen some, shall we say, unlikely people to impersonate. Like Marcia Gay Harden’s Oscar-winning work in Pollock, Ed Harris’ 23-year-old biopic about painter Jackson Pollock. Who was expecting a Pollock reference in the year 2023? Ditto Annette Bening in American Beauty. They’re predictably unpredictable choices on Plaza’s part, as is the moment when she leans in for a leftfield smooch with the SNL regular.

You can watch the promo in the video above. Plaza’s SNL episode, featuring musical guest Smith, airs Saturday night on NBC starting at 11:30pm.

Anna Kendrick stars in Alice, Darling, which arrives in theaters on January 19. The Up In The Air star previously disclosed how she had serendipitously received the script amid the wreckage of an abusive partnership, and the film’s unnerving trailer checks out. The story follows a woman who’s struggling to survive within an emotionally abusive relationship, and her friends (played by Wunmi Mosaku and Kaniehtiio Horn) start to realize that things are tragically amiss during one of their birthday weekends.

The movie promises to be an intense (and likely triggering) viewing experience, and Kendrick surely relived some agony while filming. She previously revealed how her own friends (including Aubrey Plaza) helped her see the light, despite the nature of how these types of relationship make one not want to see the light. And as Anna spoke with IndieWire, she made an admission: this press tour has been as much if not more of a grueling experience as the work itself. In particular, she discussed a rapid-fire day of interviews that left her feeling completely “sh*tty.” Here’s what happened:

“I’, actually finding that the press is the thing that has been a little trickier to navigate, making sure that I’m OK and feeling safe in my body…. There was a thing early on where I was doing like a junket-style day for ‘Alice, Darling’ where it’s like six minutes per person and you kind of run through like 30 interviews really quickly, and I went home and was in the shower and was like, ‘Why do I feel so shitty right now?,’” Kendrick said. “And I sort of told everyone, ‘I don’t think I can do another thing like that.’”

Those types of junkets are exhausting when promoting a lighthearted project, so one can only imagine how draining it was to relive emotional abuse over and over again within one day. Yikes. Some films are best promoted in a 1-on-1, carefully scheduled setting. With naps. Lots of naps. I’m perhaps sounding too “dark” while discussing this subject, too, but sometimes, looking for sleep is all that one can do to cope. Hopefully, Anna’s on the mend for real, and she can recover while moving onto her directorial debut, which is also about grim subject matter. Again, naps!

(Via IndieWire)

Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the internet. Things are starting to heat up in the sneaker world as we get our first big-name collaboration of the year and no, it’s not from Nike. In fact, Nike is playing things frustratingly safe and we’d be mad about it if other big brands weren’t picking up the slack.

The big release this week comes out of Adidas who have teamed up with Beyonce for the latest IVY PARK release, the nostalgic Top Ten 2000. The Y2K era has a stranglehold on the world of fashion right now so if you’re all about that retro aesthetic, you’re going to find a lot to love in this new collaboration. With Ye a thing of the past when it comes to conversations about hot footwear, Adidas is still going strong thanks to linking up with Beyonce, you know, one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, as well as Bad Bunny, the literal biggest pop start on the planet. So if you’re worried about the three stripes brand, don’t be, they’re in great company.

Elsewhere, our favorite Chicago designer, Joe Freshgoods, is teaming up with Vans for a radical platform Sk8-Hi that shows the designer pushing the envelope at a brand that loves to play it safe.

Nike Dunk Low Montreal Bagel

A bagel-inspired Dunk? Sure, why the hell not? It’s not like we’ve never loved Dunks inspired by food before (The Chunky Dunk comes to mind) so sure, slap some sesame seed graphics on the leather paneling and call it a day, we’ll take it!

This low-top Dunk features shades of beige with a contrasting Montreal blue swoosh and heel tab over a classic gum sole. Nike is phoning it in for sure, but they’re keeping things fun.

The Nike Dunk Low Montreal Bagel is out now for a retail price of $120. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Air Force 1 x Slam Jam Black and Off Noir

A classic silhouette meets classic Italian construction, this Air Force 1 was made in collaboration with Slam Jam and sports a softened premium leather upper with suede detailing (peep that Swoosh), an upside-down Nike Air logo, and Slam Jam branding at the toe, all dressed up in a stealthy triple black colorway.

It’s simply a dope-looking AF-1 made by one of the most renowned streetwear boutiques. A winning combination.

The Air Force 1 x Slam Jam Black and Off Noir is out now for a retail price of $180. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Air Penny 2 Black and Faded Spruce

Penny Hardaway fans stay winning! Ever since Nike brought back the Air Penny 2, the design has gotten all sorts of dope new colorways including this week’s Black and Faded Spruce.

Featuring a leather upper with a mix of black and green colors, the Air Penny 2 sports a sculpted foam midsole in Sail, with a visible air unit, and that swirling design that makes the Penny such an attractive and unique silhouette.

The Nike Air Penny 2 Black and Faded Spruce is set to drop on January 20th at 7:00 Am PST for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Joe Freshgoods x Vans Sk8-Hi Reissue Platform VLT LX/Slip-Hiker LX

Joe Freshgoods’ latest Vans collaboration is all about celebrating the Black travel experience. Dubbed the Chocolate Valley Resort collection, this sneaker and apparel drop features a Midwestern log-cabin aesthetic with warm and earthy colorways.

The sneakers featured in the collection include the Sk8-Hi Reissue Platform VLT LX and the Slip-Hiker LX. The former features a coral almond and camel colorway with the latter sporting a quilted nylon upper with an all-weather MTE outsole. It’s a dope and thoughtful collection and the best Vans has looked in a while.

The Joe Freshgoods Vans Sk8-Hi Reissue Platform VLT LX and Slip Hiker LX are set to drop on January 21st for an unannounced retail price. Pick up a pair at the Vans or Joe Freshgoods web stores.

Adidas Sean Wotherspoon Orketro

Sean Wotherspoon is putting his loud and busy touch on a forgotten Adidas silhouette. The Orketro doesn’t get a lot of love, but Wotherspoon has given it a new and vibrant look while still putting sustainability at the forefront.

Made from repurposed materials, this Orketro combines 2000s design details with Adiprene+ cushioning, a bright pink, white, orange, and blue colorway, and an angular three stripes repositioning that makes the sneaker look brand new.

The Adidas Sean Wotherspoon Orketro is set to drop on January 19th at 7:30 AM PST for a retail price of $160. Pick up a pair via the ADIDAS Confirmed App.

Adidas IVY Park Top Ten 2000

If you’ve been following fashion, you know that the y2k aesthetic is back. Feel however you want about that, if you’re over the age of 30 you probably either hate or are confused by it. Get over it, it’s back and it’s not going away. How do we know for sure? Because even Beyonce is into it. Are you saying your taste is better than Beyonce’s? Get real.

The Top Ten is a classic 00’s era Adidas silhouette, and Beyonce is giving it the Ivy Park treatment with a slight reimagining/ Featuring a mesh, nubuck and suede upper, this Top Ten sports a form-fitting neoprene collar, a molded heel piece, and a Cream White and Pulse Mint colorway that recalls Bey’s very first Ivy Park drop.

The Adidas IVY Park Top Ten 200 is set to drop on January 20th at 7:30 Am PST for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Adidas CONFIRMED app.

Earlier this month, BMF made its return for season two after being off the air for a little over a year. The show follows the rise of Demetrius “Meech” Flenory, Terry “Southwest T” Flenory, and their Black Mafia Family drug organization. The first season of BMF followed the Flenory brothers’ early days in Detroit while season two details their efforts to expand as well as the highs and lows that come with it. While we’ll certainly have to wait a bit to see what’s in store for season three, we now know that there will indeed be a season three of BMF.

STARZ announced today that BMF will indeed see a third season, and the news comes just two weeks into the show’s second season. “BMF captures the essence of Detroit through elevated, gritty storytelling and our fans have passionately responded to this show more than ever before,” STARZ’s President of Original Programming Kathryn Busby said in a press release. “Following such a strong debut with season two, we’re thrilled to continue to expand on the incredible story of the Flenory brothers as they change the game by writing their own rules. We can’t wait to see what our extraordinary producers and cast deliver next.”

In addition to the season three renewal, BMF was also ranked as the #1 most socially engaged drama across all networks over its premiere weekend (January 6-8) according to Talkwalker’s SCR.

Make sure to check out our season two, episode two recap of BMF here.

New episodes of ‘BMF’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am EST and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm EST.

Stephen A. Smith might be a loudmouth with occasionally boneheaded opinions but he’s no fool. Just hours after risking the ire of two of music’s biggest fan bases, he’s already walking back his comments negatively comparing Rihanna to Beyoncé. In a video posted on his Twitter account, Stephen A. apologized to Rihanna and admitted that “I need to be more careful” in the future.

“I’m gonna own it,” he said, before tossing a little shade at the outlets that highlighted his faux pas. “I know what y’all trying to do. But I’m gonna own it because I get paid to speak for a living so I need to be more careful.” He then turned his attention to clearing the air with Rihanna, saying, “I want Rihanna to know: You’re a superstar. You’re sensational. You’re spectacular. You’re no joke, and you’re a worthy person to be doing the Super Bowl Halftime Show.”

He also elaborated on what he meant by “she ain’t Beyoncé.” “I’m a Beyoncé fan,” he explained. “I think Beyoncé is not only a phenomenal performer; she’s thee phenomenal performer. The only reason any kind of comparison came into play is because Beyoncé performed at the Super Bowl… and I thought those were two of the greatest shows I’ve ever seen. Anybody has to measure up to that.”

He also pointed out that he compared last year’s Dr. Dre performance with Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Mary J. Blige to Beyoncé’s before going full Stephen A. and asserting that even a Michael Jackson reprise would have to measure up to her and… well. It’s Stephen A. Smith. You couldn’t have been expecting a totally contrite response.

Smith made sure to show love to both Bey and Rih before saying he wished no disrespect to either, encouraging Rihanna to “do your thing.”