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We’re all pretty much aware that the dealings on Wall Street are unfair at best and straight-up corrupt at worst. It’s something that is outright celebrated in our media. Movies like The Wolf Of Wall Street and The Big Short have pulled back the curtain enough to reveal that the infrastructure of Wall Street is designed to make it so that the rich get richer off the labor and livelihoods of those with less (while being funded by the mega-rich and starring other rich people who are often heavily invested in Wall Street!).

This is why the retail investors who were galvanized by Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets to pull off the Game Stop short squeeze inspired so many. They stuck it to the man! It was a win for the little guy! And now the saga is getting renewed attention thanks to MSNBC’s upcoming documentary Diamond Hands: The Legend of WallStreetBets.

Set to premiere on May 15th at 10 pm on MSNBC (and subsequently on Peacock), Diamond Hands: The Legend Of WallStreetBets chronicles how an army of retail investors, the financial realities of 2020, a pandemic, stimulus money, and the gamification of the stock market made more accessible by retail trading apps like Robinhood collided to rock the foundation of our financial system. And Diamond Hands isn’t the only recent documentary to make some noise about the issue.

Jon Stewart, on his Apple TV + show, The Problem With Jon Stewart, did a great job of explaining how Robinhood, payment for order flow, and something called “dark pools” work in favor of the super-rich while making regular people feel like they have a seat at the table. Similarly, HBO’s two-part docuseries, Gaming Wall St. which is narrated by a perfectly cast Kieran Culkin of Succession fame — whose Roman Roy is totally the type of person who would despise Reddit retail investors — breaks down just how extensively the system is actively being exploited by Wall Street. It’s only a matter of time before some studio casts the Zoomer equivalent of Christian Bale and Leonardo DiCaprio to star in the inevitable Game Stop movie.

These docs and shows are essential viewings if you’re a young investor entering adulthood at a time when inflation is at an all-time high. Especially if you’re actively debating the value of college and taking student loans, knowing that wages are stagnating (especially wages with CEO salaries removed), and you’re living amidst a yo-yo-ing pandemic that continues to threaten the livelihoods of every working-class citizen. Maybe you’re already tuned to the possibilities the right play can provide you, but we’re all going to need to level up our knowledge when it comes to stocks because we’re living in very similar circumstances to those that led to the Game Stop short squeeze in the first place. (Or, to be more accurate, “shit hasn’t changed.”)

More to the point, if you’re a young investor it’s important to come to terms with the fact that the system is not democratized, and does not operate in your favor. As the gamification of the stock market continues, financial literacy is crucial. Especially because we’re dealing with a system that doesn’t seem to be getting any better despite everyone screaming at the top of their lungs about all of its flaws.

The news moves fast but forgetting about the Game Stop short squeeze is exactly what Wall Street wants us to do.

Better Call Saul just started airing its final season this week, but AMC is already making moves to make sure Bob Odenkirk isn’t gone for long. In a new press release, AMC has announced that Odenkirk’s new series, Straight Man, has already been officially greenlit for a first season after the network revealed earlier in the month that the show was on a “fast-track” for development. How fast? AMC is gunning to premiere the new series, which stars Odenkirk as “the unlikely chairman of the English department in a badly underfunded college in the Pennsylvania rust belt,” in 2023.

Straight Man will adapt the novel of the same name with writers Aaron Zelman and Paul Lieberstein also serving as showrunners for Odenkirk’s third series for AMC.

“The saying goes ‘the third times a charm,’ but when it comes to Bob Odenkirk on AMC, the first and second times were about as charming, captivating and viscerally entertaining as it gets,” Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks said in a statement. “As Better Call Saul begins its epic sixth and final season, we could not be more excited by the prospect of keeping Bob at home on AMC and watching him breathe life into another nuanced, complicated and unforgettable character.”

Odenkirk is also jazzed at the prospect of headlining another prestige drama for the network.

“I am thrilled that AMC is embracing the unique scenario and characters in Paul and Aaron’s adaptation of Straight Man,” Odenkirk said. “I have loved the mix of comedy and drama in Better Call Saul, and this is another story with a unique dynamic, and the kind of closely observed character writing and exploration that AMC has become the touchstone for. It’s going to be fun to play and watch!”

The final season of Better Call Saul is currently airing on AMC.

In 1998, Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) – the crooked lawyer eventually known as Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad – performs ABBA’s “The Winner Takes It All” at karaoke in celebration of him passing the New Mexico bar. Jimmy, singing completely off-key, urges his high-powered lawyer brother, Chuck McGill (Michael McKean), with whom he has a tense relationship, to join him. Chuck resists at first. He hesitates to sing after Jimmy pulls him on stage, only to take over the entire song just before the chorus, singing like a Broadway star. “The winner takes it all, the loser standing small,” Chuck sings as Jimmy, always the loser, stands behind his brother, the titular winner, on a night that’s supposed to be about him.

The scene says everything you need to know about Chuck and Jimmy. They never would have found each other, or if they did, they wouldn’t give each other the time of day. But they’re brothers and forever bound to each other whether they like each other or not. This scene also lets its actors showcase their seemingly unlimited talents: Odenkirk gets to perform karaoke terribly, showcasing his comedy background and McKean gets to show off his singing voice. The clever writing (“The Winner Takes It All” was carefully chosen) and Odenkirk’s dynamic performance add dimension to an entertaining but complex scene. This flashback from the season four finale, aptly titled “Winner,” demonstrates what’s so good about Better Call Saul, which takes place in the early 2000s, several years before the events of Breaking Bad.

Better Call Saul, which has just begun its sixth and final season on AMC (which will catch up to Breaking Bad and include Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul reprising their roles as Walter White and Jesse Pinkman respectively), moves at a glacial pace reminiscent of the early seasons of Mad Men. Its confident, patient storytelling gives its characters ample screen time to develop and change, mostly for the worse. It focuses so narrowly on character and relationship development that the pace has deterred viewers from watching it, especially when compared to Breaking Bad, which is why it hasn’t reached near the scale of popularity as Breaking Bad, which, for a time, was as inescapable as Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, Squid Game or Bridgerton. (None of which, for the record, are as good as Better Call Saul.)

Better Call Saul marinates, then slow cooks. Breaking Bad’s rapid, plot-driven pace forced it to sacrifice quiet character moments and relationships in order to catch the character up with the story. This is not necessarily a bad thing: Breaking Bad is a brilliant show and was truly groundbreaking during a period of groundbreaking television at the peak of its Golden Age. But some relationships and characters didn’t get the time to develop fully, particularly its female characters such as Skylar White and Marie Schraeder. Better Call Saul slowly digs into its characters’ characteristics and backgrounds, uncovering more and more about both new characters like Salamanca right-hand man Nacho Varga (Michael Mando) and familiar faces like Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) without running out of material.

Perhaps the greatest thing about Better Call Saul is its deceptive premise. We always knew what Breaking Bad was about the destruction of Walter White, an average man corrupted by his thirst for money and power. We thought we knew what Better Call Saul would be: the story of a lawyer who becomes Saul Goodman, the criminal lawyer. It is that except Slippin’ Jimmy McGill already cuts corners and already does whatever it takes for his clients. Jimmy slips into the more corrupt Saul Goodman persona every season, but its true breaking bad arc unfolds in lawyer Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn), Jimmy’s best friend, on and off again girlfriend and eventual wife. Although we know the fates of many characters including Tuca Salamanca, Gustavo Fring, and Mike Ehrmantraut, another trick Better Call Saul uses to its advantage is the unknown. For as many characters on the show whose fates are familiar, there are characters who, while huge presences in Jimmy’s life, are not on Breaking Bad. Better Call Saul manipulates our lack of knowledge by putting characters such as Kim Wexler in precarious situations, knowing the audience is questioning her fate because she is not ever seen or mentioned on Breaking Bad.

Breaking Bad was built for streaming in a pre-streaming era, while Better Call Saul is a Golden Age of Television cable show in the streaming era. Glimpses of Saul Goodman’s quiet, depressing life after Breaking Bad as a Cinnabon manager, the complexities of brothers, and Albuquerque lawyer drama do not sound all that appealing, but Better Call Saul makes it gripping. We didn’t ask for an origin story about the colorful criminal lawyer from Breaking Bad, and we were confused when it was announced. But Better Call Saul is an absolutely necessary prequel that’s integral to the story of Breaking Bad, not the other way around: without Better Call Saul, its predecessor is incomplete.

Sonic the Hedgehog is as popular as he’s ever been. With a hit movie out in theaters and an all new open world video game on the way, it’s a great time to be a fan of the blue blur. On Wednesday, that excitement only increased with the official release date for Sonic Origins getting announced in a new trailer.

Sonic Origins is a love letter to fans of the original Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy on the SEGA Genesis plus Sonic CD. All four games have been packaged together in a singular collection pack and it looks like there will be an option to play each game in its original form or in a remastered anniversary edition. They even teased the ability to play as any of Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles, which might mean we can play as Tails or Knuckles in the original Sonic the Hedgehog. With a summer release date set for June, there’s a lot for Sonic fans to be excited about in the near future.

Platform: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Price: $40 (Digital only as of this moment)
Release Date: June 23
Genre: Platformer
Developer: SEGA
Publisher: SEGA
Rating: E
Where can I buy this: Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store, Steam, Epic Games Store
Single Player: Yes
Multiplayer: Maybe
Early Access: No
Microtransactions: Unclear

The merits of Golden State’s Stephen Curry-Jordan Poole-Klay Thompson-Andrew Wiggins-Draymond juggernaut lineup have been on full display in the Warriors’ two blowout victories over the Denver Nuggets.

In 11 minutes together — which doubles as the first time this exact lineup has ever seen the floor — they’ve outscored Denver 47-18. The per 100 possession numbers are frivolous at this stage, but they remain exceptionally fun nonetheless: 204.3 offensive rating, 75 defensive rating, 95.4 percent true shooting, 58.8 percent assist rate, 0 percent turnover rate. This is no area where this grouping has been anything other than dominant.

Swapping out Kevon Looney for Curry is an obvious and beneficial change for a litany of reasons. Among those is the radically different pace at which Golden State operates with its star guard in the fold. The starting unit of Poole, Thompson, Wiggins, Green, and Looney touts a pace of 89.59 this series. Toss Curry in place of Looney and that mark vaults up to 103.28.

Across many lineups, the Warriors flow into their offense quickly and absolutely crush Denver. Whether it’s attacking before the Nuggets’ defense is organized, upping the tempo to generate favorable cross-matches, or simply coasting into easy looks, Golden State is thriving in the open floor. This handy data from my friend, Div, underlines the degree to which the Warriors are cooking.

By pushing the pace, Golden State is increasing the likelihood of Denver miscommunicating defensively, which has frequently occurred in this series. Similarly, it’s forcing players like Nikola Jokic, Will Barton, JaMychal Green, and Jeff Green to guard in space, an area in which they’ve all struggled. This team is not designed to comfortably toggle across assignments defensively. Golden State is exploiting that deficiency by imposing beneficial matchups for itself. If those don’t arise, a wide open triple or path to the rim becomes available.

The Warriors also roster many savvy off-ball players and the Nuggets counter with many poor off-ball defenders. When those traits are emphasized early in the shot clock, Golden State rides a massive advantage to success.

The Curry-Poole-Thompson-Wiggins-Green quintet is overflowing with shooting, playmaking, and passing. Even when Golden State substitutes in Otto Porter Jr. or Nemanja Bjelica, the themes that stretch Denver thin persist. The Nuggets aren’t at all equipped to handle it, especially before their defense is set.

On the flip side, their offensive limitations — lack of scoring punch on the wings, general perimeter creation and insufficient rim pressure — can’t expose any of the potential flaws for Golden State. Privy to this notion, Green is constantly encouraging his teammates to run. He’s leading the break, attacking the paint, forcing the defense into rotation, and opening passing lanes. Curry is helping to spearhead those efforts. By the second half of Game 2, they’d seemingly exhausted Denver into submission.

Take stock of the outcomes above derived from a ferocious fast-break approach. They’re a whole lot of prosperous shots for the Warriors.

Jokic has to rotate on Poole and (understandably) doesn’t come close to contesting his jumper. Thompson’s shooting gravity draws two, opens a cutting lane, and results in a layup for himself. Thompson again draws two and springs Wiggins free for a jam. Barton isn’t settled and surrenders another Poole long ball. Nobody picks up Thompson, which tasks Jokic with the burden and Thompson glides past him for the bucket. Poole uses a ball-screen to boogy into a stepback jumper.

The Nuggets’ mental lapses snowballed as Golden State’s lead climbed in the second half of Game 2. They’d fail to pick up assignments in a timely fashion. They jogged back as Golden State beamed back. Any remnants of crisp execution on their switches evaporated. The offensive potency of the Warriors’ lineups were overwhelming, both in transition and the half-court.

The wide disparity in decision-making was evident. Denver buffers before its next move defensively. Golden State doesn’t do the same offensively or defensively. That difference is proving costly for the Nuggets. Occasionally, Golden State’s penchant for pace doesn’t directly spark a quick, welcomed shot. Sometimes, the mere threat of a quick, welcomed shot coaxes Denver into cross-matches, something its defense is not prepared to absorb whatsoever.

Regardless of whether the Nuggets blot out some of the transition gaffes plaguing them through two games, Golden State’s prolific attack will likely continue. According to Cleaning The Glass, its half-court offense is generating 123.3 points per 100 possessions this series, which leads all playoff teams.

The lineups rich with spacing, passing, and dribbling are an enigma for Denver. Its perimeter defenders are struggling to efficiently navigate screens, stop ball-handlers at the point-of-attack, and coordinate rotations. All of those shortcomings are glaring brightly when Golden State thrusts the spotlight on them early in the clock. Game 1 hinted at that trend. Game 2 fully featured it and further illuminated the divide between these teams.

On 4/20, multi-hyphenate Machine Gun Kelly revealed the trailer to his upcoming stoner comedy film, Good Mourning. Credited by his birth name Colson Baker, Good Mourning sees Kelly play an actor named London Clash.

One morning, London receives a text message from his girlfriend, Apple (Becky G), reading, “I wish I didn’t have to do this thru text,” then a follow-up message reading, “Good Mourning.” Assuming Apple is going to break up with him, London falls into a spiral. Joining him on his pot-fueled mission to get his girlfriend back are rapper Gata (of Dave fame), Pete Davidson, and Whitney Cummings. Kelly’s real-life fiancée Megan Fox also appears in the movie.

Good Mourning marks Kelly’s directorial debut, alongside fellow musician Mod Sun. Trippie Redd, Dove Cameron, Dennis Rodman, Tom Arnold, and Danny Trejo can be spotted throughout the trailer. Snoop Dogg also appears in the movie as an animated talking joint.

“We are looking forward to bringing this wild comedy to audiences in theaters and at home on demand. The film is a reminder of how fun movies can be to make and watch,” Open Road Films CEO Tom Ortenberg said in a statement. “Colson and this incredible cast will bring audiences to their knees in laughter and leave their jaws on the floor.”

Check out the red band trailer above.

Good Morning is out 5/20 in theaters and on demand.

If you’ve been on Instagram in the past week, then you’ve witnessed the “influencer Olympics” that is the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. Scandalous sparkling ensembles, greasy festival food, and crowds of people on…questionable substances were abundant on the ol’ feed.

Of course, the actual lineup of music artists didn’t disappoint, either. Attendees witnessed legendary surprise guests like Shania Twain accompanying Harry Styles, compelling performances from hip-hop queens Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion, and the last-minute headlining show by The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia after Ye pulled out.

Incredible performances and head-turning festival fashion aside, there’s one underrated Coachella component that goes unmatched on the festival circuit. We’re talking about the Do LaB Stage, where the die-hard partiers go to rage in between headlining sets. The stage featured performances by Diplo, Rebecca Black & Friends, SG Lewis, Dom Dolla b2b John Summit, JAUZ Off The Deep End, Subtronics, Walker & Royce b2b VNSSA, MEUTE, and more.

The non-stop party leveled up with water guns splashing into the crowd, ariel artists hanging overhead, and the Do Lab’s signature rainbow tent fixture. If you’re heading to weekend two of Coachella, the Do Lab Stage deserves a spot on your festival weekend itinerary — the photos below prove why.

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Aziz Ansari’s directorial debut, Being Mortal has been suspended by Searchlight Pictures after a three-day production halt per an exclusive report from Deadline. The specifics behind the suspension are currently unknown, but it involves a complaint.

The film, an adaptation of Atul Gawande’s 2014 nonfiction book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, stars Ansari, Seth Rogen, Bill Murray, and Keke Palmer. Sources confirmed to Deadline that the complaint was not made against Ansari, who was accused of sexual misconduct amidst the MeToo movement with a story published on the now-defunct Babe Dot Net in 2018. Sources who spoke to Deadline said that Ansari and his producing partner Youree Henley have been working with Searchlight to determine the next steps.

Cast and crew received the following letter from Searchlight:

“Dear Being Mortal Cast and Crew,
We know you are all concerned about the recent delays in production and want to give you an update.
Late last week, we were made aware of a complaint, and we immediately looked into it. After reviewing the circumstances, it has been decided that production cannot continue at this time.
We are truly grateful to all of you for everything you’ve put into this project. Our hope is to resume production and are working with Aziz and Youree to figure out that timing.
Production will be in touch with you to share details on the wrap, and we will let you know as soon as we have more information to share.

Searchlight Pictures”

Being Mortal went into production on March 28. Details of the film’s plot have been kept quiet. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “logline details for Mortal are being kept in the casket, but the book explored the concepts of death and aging and how the medical profession tends to mishandle both. Searchlight has previously described the project as being at the intersection of “insightful humor and pathos.” At the time, it is unclear if the suspension will impact its release date, expected in 2023.

April 20, 2022, is a day that will live in cursed infamy. In a 12-hour span, we witnessed a sweaty Donald Trump storming out of his interview with British blowhard Piers Morgan (unless he didn’t), and Rudy Giuliani making his long-dreaded appearance on Fox’s The Masked Singer. This is not what the founders of 4/20 (Cheech and Chong?) had in mind.

There’s plenty of Trump vs. Piers drama to come (there always is). But as for Giuliani, the former-NYC mayor who tried to destroy democracy as we know it, his unmasking as “Jack in the Box” is being called a “new low point for reality TV.” Which is saying something. The episode didn’t even get good ratings, so, uh, hope it was worth it, Fox.

Variety reports:

The show’s installment with the disgraced former mayor of New York City and former personal attorney for President Donald Trump got a 0.6 demo rating and 3.6 million total viewers, according to fast-affiliate Nielsen data. Viewership for season seven has been in flux since its March 9 premiere, with the Fox celebrity singing competition drawing a season high 4.3 million viewers on March 30, only to reach a season low of 3.9 million last Wednesday, which was beat by last night’s new low.

It was the lowest-rated episode of the season, a season that has also featured A-list celebrities like Dog the Bounty Hunter, Hurley from Lost, and sports announcer Joe Buck. The pitiful ratings are hilarious (in a “Sick, Sad World” kind of way), but even funnier is Masked Singer co-hosting Nicole Scherzinger confusing Giuliani for actor Robert Duvall. “No, that’s not Robert Duvall,” a dead-inside Ken Jeong responds.

(Via Variety)

Today, we have finally gotten a little bit more plot details surrounding the elusive (and confusing) Lightyear movie, which is about the actual guy who inspired the toy, not the toy itself. Make sense? Disney isn’t making it easy for us.

The latest trailer explains that there is time and space travel involved in the plot, so things are starting to make a bit more sense. It seems that Lightyear was only supposed to be in space for a few minutes, and ended up out there for several decades. Chaos ensues. It’s Interstellar for kids!

We also got a first look at Zurg and his robot army, which will be a throwback for any Toy Story fan. Of course, we hear Chris Evans say the iconic line: “to infinity and beyond.” It’s not quite as fun as when Tim Allen and Tom Hanks say it, but Hanks is too busy building toys to be one.

Here is the official description from Disney:

The definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear, the hero who inspired the toy, Lightyear follows the legendary Space Ranger after he’s marooned on a hostile planet 4.2 million light-years from Earth alongside his commander and their crew. As Buzz tries to find a way back home through space and time, he’s joined by a group of ambitious recruits and his charming robot companion cat, Sox. Complicating matters and threatening the mission is the arrival of Zurg, an imposing presence with an army of ruthless robots and a mysterious agenda

Lightyear stars Chris Evans as Buzz, alongside Uzo Aduba, Keke Palmer, Taika Waititi, and Dale Soule. While there was allegedly some controversy surrounding some of the characters, Pixar has supposedly allowed a same-sex kiss to be in the movie (for now).

The space adventure hits theaters on June 17th. Check out the trailer above.