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The backlash against Tom Hanks' 'Saturday Night Live' Black Jeopardy sketch hit social media in a hurray. The backlash to the backlash was just as swift. Hanks brought back his Trump voter character during “SNL50: The Anniversary Special.” The Oscar winner originally played the fictional Doug in a 2016 'Black Jeopardy' sketch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7VaXlMvAvk At the time, Doug retreated when the show's black host, played by Kenan Thompson, tried to shake Doug's hand after the two agreed on a point. It's because he can't imagine shaking a black person's hand without fearing the worst. Get it? At the time, it played
“Millers in Marriage” may be set in modern times, but the ‘90s are never far from the screen. Writer/director Edward Burns dissects the travails of 50-somethings in mid-life crises. They pine for their younger days, when “Seinfeld” ruled and AOL flooded the zone with Internet CD-ROMs. So does the film, a throwback to storytellers who focused on lost souls seeking life's missing ingredients. Think “Walking and Talking,” “Singles” and, of course, Burns’ “The Brothers McMullen” (1995). Middle-aged malaise rarely gets a sober closeup like this, but too many story arcs fall into predictable ruts and never see their way out.
Some conservatives cheered when Disney's 'Mufasa: The Lion King' opened weakly late last year. The online Right unofficially declared war on Disney following the company's woke makeover and attack on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. That $35 million haul suggested the Mouse House's latest 'live-action' adaptation would be a bust. The film had legs, though, muscling to a respectable $241 million stateside, plus another $446 million via international theaters. That $688 million tally is a far cry from 2019's 'Aladdin' ($1 billion), but it beat 2023's 'Little Mermaid' update ($569 million). The early financial snapshot proved incomplete. It's the second and
Drew Hancock’s “Companion” is about a couple’s retreat in a lake house surrounded by miles of forest and isolation. The central couple is Josh (Jack Quaid), who proudly accompanies Iris (Sophie Thatcher), who visibly adores him. Josh and Iris are met by two other couples, all seeking escape and relaxation but holding secrets that threaten to unravel the nature of their relationships. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr_kX0D3DNA What kind of secrets are we talking about? The kind that I want to be careful not to spoil, though my wife saw the teaser trailer months ago and guessed the big twist immediately. My point is
'Reservoir Dogs' unleashed a crush of Quentin Tarantino copycats in the 1990s. The films looked cool and stylish, but they lacked Tarantino's boundless skill set. And it showed. Boy, did it ever. Now, the producers behind 'Nobody' are trying to duplicate that sleeper hit with another tale of an ex-killer lured back into action. Nothing doing. 'Love Hurts' asks Ke Huy Quan to play an amiable Realtor with a dark past, but the wafer-thin screenplay lets him and his co-stars down. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7_gi1-bIJs Quan plays Marvin Gable, a mild-mannered Realtor who bakes cookies and treats his job like a gift from
Taylor Swift heard an unusual sound on Super Bowl Sunday. The pop superstar is used to crowd adulation following her globe-trotting Eras Tour. There's no bigger singer on the planet. Period. On Sunday, Swift earned a cascade of boos from the masses instead. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn3DQ0AtnqE Swift's Super Bowl appearance in New Orleans to support Kansas City Chief's Travis Kelce sparked the boo brigade. That, coupled with subsequent cheers for President Donald Trump, sparked digital cries of misogyny. Glamour magazine led the parade. The far-Left outlet took the series of events poorly. 'Why Taylor Swift Getting Booed at the Super Bowl was
J.K. Rowling isn't an influencer in the traditional sense. She's not begging for 'likes' on social media or using filters to put her best face forward. The 'Harry Potter' author still understands her cultural clout. She uses it sparingly. Case in point: The author shared a powerful ad promoting women's sports to her 14.2 million followers. This is the first and likely the last time I’ll retweet an ad, but I love it. pic.twitter.com/oALpr5c10v — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) February 3, 2025 Editor's Note: It's a brutal time to be an independent journalist, but it's never been more necessary given the
It’s one of Hollywood’s biggest cliches. So-and-so actor was “brave” to gain 30 lbs. for an Oscar-bait role. Ugh. Even worse? Generic Actor took a courageous stand denouncing President Donald Trump at the Fill-In-the-Blank awards show. Nonsense. A bigger courage deficit exists elsewhere in La La Land. This one matters more, and the cowardice has real-world implications. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELcYedVfwT4 Consider the all-out war against trans performer Karla Sofía Gascón. The Best Actress nominee from Netflix’s “Emilia Pérez” is under extreme Cancel Culture attack. Gascón's past social media posts “resurfaced” courtesy of Sarah Hagi, a journalist eager to alienate the performer. It
It doesn't take a genius to spot media bias. Loaded phrases are the first clue, like calling anyone appointed by President Donald Trump a 'loyalist.' Do other presidents tap contrarians for key roles? The second? What stories get left behind and which ones get all the attention? Reporters routinely ignore select stories, like the wave of censorship attacks on Jewish artists over the past year. The third? How slowly legacy outlets tackle a given story. When Anthony Mackie's quote about Captain America not representing America went viral, media outlets stood down until they could frame the story around his backpedal.
Diversity is our strength. Or, as Grammy Winner Alicia Keys, put it , 'DEI is not a threat, it's a gift.' The 'Fallin'' singer received the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at Sunday's Grammys. The telecast, which shed 9 percent of viewers from last year, flowed with progressive messaging. Lady Gaga Host Trevor Noah Chappell Roan Shakira Keys joined the fray, defending DEI just as President Donald Trump's executive orders cut the policy off at the knees. 'This is not the time to shut down the diversity of voices,' Keys said. 'We've seen on this stage talented, hardworking people from
Hollywood and the entertainment press are worried that President Donald Trump will spark a censorship tsunami. Deadline's Peter Bart suggested Trump 2.0 may lead to a new Hollywood blacklist. The stars of 'The Apprentice,' the anti-Trump hit piece, warned of a free speech chill when their film struggled to find a distributor. Spoiler Alert: It eventually did, and the film flopped. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHjn6d6jauQ Meanwhile, both Hollywood and the reporters who cover the industry looked the other way as sensitivity readers censored classic books, movies got erased by major streaming services and trigger warnings greeted everything from 'Peter Pan' to 'Goodfellas.' No
Oscar scandals are now an inevitable part of awards season. Remember suggestions that the man chronicled in “A Beautiful Mind” made antisemitic slurs to colleagues? Or, more recently, how Adrien Brody’s bravura turn in “The Brutalist” got an A.I. boost? This scandal is different, and the timing couldn’t be worse for an industry staring into the cultural abyss. The gala’s dwindling ratings may be the least of the Academy’s problems following GascónGate. The masses may finally tune out Oscar night as a cultural institution. Even without the scandal that’s now engulfed Emilia Pérez, Katey Rich and The Atlantic film critic @davidlsims
'Saturday Night Live' celebrates its 50th anniversary this month - no small feat in a swirling media landscape. The show's impact on pop culture is impossible to overstate. Consider the superstars that sprang from the NBC showcase and their individual legacies: Eddie Murphy Bill Murray Chevy Chase Chris Rock Will Ferrell Tina Fey Adam Sandler Mike Myers The list goes on ... and on. Sketch comedy is synonymous with 'SNL' after decades of iconic clips. Bravo, indeed. Except 'SNL' has stumbled in recent years, battered by self-inflicted wounds. A show born from chaos and creativity is now part of the
It takes a strong stomach to watch a 'Terrifier' film. Director Damien Leone's trilogy (a fourth film is reportedly in the works) traffics in some of the most gruesome FX in the horror genre. And that's saying something with films like 'Men' and 'The Substance' in the public space. Franchise killer Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) delights in slicing and dicing his prey, and Leone's camera catches every droplet of fake blood. There's nothing overtly political about the films, although one could argue their adherence to retro '80s shock is a statement unto itself. Leone disagrees. He shared a
The Israeli hostages being released, slowly, by Hamas look like survivors of Hitler's concentration camps. Gaunt. Sickly. Barely alive. Today’s release of the hostages who they starved included their staged show and blessings for Hamas terrorists from the “innocent” Gazans. Eli was tortured by Hamas who told him he was returning to his wife and 2 daughters who they massacred on October 7th. Upon his return, Eli… pic.twitter.com/pSoSxZCB34 — Stella Escobedo (@StellaEscoTV) February 8, 2025 It's the latest inhumanity committed by the terrorist group following its Oct. 7 attack that killed more than a thousand innocents and captured hundreds more.
If the significance of a week can be described as “shock and awe,” imagine the impact of Holy Week. That is the time in Jesus and the disciples’ lives into which “The Chosen” will take its growing audience for season 5. Or, as the show's official synopsis teases, “The most pivotal week in human history.' The New Testament-based show is gearing up for the release of what Executive Director Dallas Jenkins described as its “highest production value” season to date, which culminates in the Last Supper. “Tables are turned. Friends are betrayed. And powerful leaders plot the death of Jesus,”
It's true that when the common defense becomes unreliable, the prepared will want their safe havens to be secure. But life isn't so cut and dry, says part of the message within “Homestead.” A blow-‘em-up disaster scene under the bombing of Los Angeles may be how This Ben Smallbone movie begins with a nuclear bomb detonating in Los Angeles, but when the nuclear fallout settles, genuine slices of humanity punctuate the film's adventurous remainder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJNzSlLNceA Ian and Jenna Ross (Neal McDonough and Dawn Olivieri), the owners of a well-stocked, secret location called Homestead, have their grain stores and underground water
Mel Gibson’s “Flight Risk” opens with a wanted fugitive being arrested while hiding out in Alaska. The U.S. Marshal who slams the cuffs on Topher Grace's Winston is Madolyn (Michelle Dockery. She hires a private plane to fly her and her fugitive to New York, where Winston must testify in a high-profile criminal trial. Madolyn employs a pilot named Daryl (Mark Wahlberg) who seems gregarious and professional. The trio take flight, the plane lands safely and without incident. The three have long, fulfilling lives and live happily ever after. The End. Just kidding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojC9JBuccJA Actually, things go badly from the
Tim Dillon has seen the infamous 'Emilia Pérez' clip that went viral for all the wrong reasons. The sequence follows Zoe Saldaña's character as she quizzes a doctor on 'gender-affirming care.' golden globe winning movie pic.twitter.com/SOlpHwkyXo — andrew 🦇 (@andrew12la) January 6, 2025 Dillon piled on. 'Outside of 12 people in Hollywood, no one wanted this, obviously. Not Mexicans. Not trans people. Nobody wanted this,' Dillon said. The film has come under fire from GLAAD for allegedly being a poor example of trans storytelling. Some Mexican viewers torched the film for its inauthenticity. Audiences at Rotten Tomatoes gave the film
Wim Wenders’ “The Million Dollar Hotel” (2000) begins with one of the most amazing open sequences I’ve ever seen. We pull in, or rather we float across the glittering skyline of Los Angeles. The camera cranes around to the massive sign for The Million Dollar Hotel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjPHPTsVM_8 On the roof, standing next to the sign is Tom Tom, played by Jeremy Davies. Tom Tom suddenly breaks into a sprint, takes a moment to wave to someone off-camera then dives off the edge. What it all means won’t be clear until the very end. The story then flashes back to earlier
Joe Rogan knows a thing or two about Fake News. The Spotify star contracted COVID-19 in 2021 and watched media outlets spread false information about his treatment regimen. Some scribes dubbed Ivermectin 'horse paste' even though it previously won a Nobel Prize for use on humans. CNN allegedly doctored footage of the ex-'Fear Factor' host to make him look more yellow and sickly. Rogan even roasted CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta to his face on 'The Joe Rogan Experience' for pushing the 'horse paste' narrative. Now, Rogan is setting the record straight on Kamala Harris's failed attempt to join his podcast
Some things never go out of style. Tuxedoes Flowers on a first date Romantic movies for budding couples Hollywood has a golden opportunity to help on the latter front. Or, should we say had? A quick look at the film release calendar for Feb. 14, 2025 shows the industry forgot Saint Valentine. Valentine's Day weekend debuts 'Captain America: Brave New World,' a film seemingly devoid of meet-cute moments or airport reunions. We'll also see 'Paddington in Peru,' the third film in a saga known for its family-friendly yuks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTvudSGfHRI Two major releases. Zero attempts to woo romantic movie goers. The
Talk about big shoes to fill. Anthony Mackie isn't just taking over for Chris Evans as the star-spangled hero in 'Captain America: Brave New World.' Mackie must serve as a bridge to future 'Avengers' films while restoring the MCU's luster. The 'Hurt Locker' alum is up to the task in the moderately satisfying sequel. A few nips and tucks could have elevated the character in ways the struggling franchise demands. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pHDWnXmK7Y Mackie is now established as Cap as the movie opens, coming off 'Avengers: Endgame' and the Disney+ series 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.' His Sam Wilson is open
'Saturday Night Live' is doing a victory lap this weekend, and for good reason. This year marks the NBC show's 50th anniversary, a remarkable feat in broadcasting. The celebration began with 'SNL: The Homecoming Concert' at Radio City Music Hall. The star-studded event featured a who's who of rock, pop and soul, including Cher, Lady Gaga, Nirvana (with Post Malone filling in for the late Kurt Cobain) and Snoop Dogg. Nirvana reunites with Post Malone for SNL 50 concert at Radio City Music Hall https://t.co/dbyyqEVweB — Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) February 15, 2025 Feb. 16's 'SNL50: The Anniversary
It's awards season and Donald Trump calls The White House home. The math practically does itself. Awards show after awards show is smiting President Trump this time of year. This is how democrats lost the election. Now Judd is trying to lose his audience.https://t.co/OUQoA4mTab — Peter Sauer (@CoffeeAddict40) February 9, 2025 The latest example? Saturday night's Writers Guild of America (WGA) awards ceremony in Los Angeles. The gala featured several artists taking jabs at President Trump. The evening's honoree, 'Breaking Bad' creator Vince Gilligan, used his time accepting the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement to do the
Former 'Saturday Night Live' star Al Franken made headlines as a liberal Minnesota Senator. One particular news cycle chased him out of office. Franken didn't let his ideological beliefs infect his previous work as an 'SNL' writer/performer. He made sure his sketches hit both sides of the political aisle, sometimes hard, during his tenure. And he's darn proud of it. 'Our goal was to get laughs from everyone,' Franken says in a new Time essay. The feature recalls the behind-the-scenes maneuvers involving a Dukakis/Bush the Elder sketch. It's a window into the classic show's process, one that forged its pop
We'll have to navigate 'Peter Pan' on our own, folks. Disney, one of the most woke corporate companies in America, continues to backpedal from its hard-Left posture. Disney CEO Bob Iger vowed in 2023 to steer the company away from its Culture War fixation. one that saw the beloved brand declare war on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Iger's stance sounded dubious given all that we had learned about the new Mouse House. This viral video clip may have said it best. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_mp__7Sbhs That was then. More recently, Disney films like 'Moana 2' and 'Inside Out 2' avoided culture war battles
Netflix offers two distinct services for subscribers. It’s the home for big-budget, big-name original movies that often disappoint. Yes, we’re talking about “Back in Action,” “A Family Affair” and “Atlas.” The platform also gives lesser-known titles a chance to be discovered. The latter matters, since the crush of fresh content means many solid films get overlooked. Given that reality, here are eight titles currently available on Netflix that are well worth a look --even if they got little attention upon release. Alone Simple can be so much better when it comes to storytelling. A young woman (Jules Willcox) has an
George Clooney cemented his auteur status with 2005's 'Good Night, and Good Luck.' The drama recalled journalist Edward R. Murrow's clash with Sen. Joseph McCarthy during what later became known as the Blacklist era. Clooney co-wrote and co-starred in a film that earned six Oscar nominations, including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv4s0wdDOK0 Clooney's directorial career slumped following the movie's release. Blame it on duds like 'Leatherheads' (2008), 'The Monuments Men' (2014), 'Suburbicon' (2017' and 'The Tender Bar' (2021). Now, the actor/director is bringing 'Good Night, and Good Luck' to Broadway. It's a shrewd business move and, according to
'Kinda Pregnant' deserves a more accurate title - 'When Amy Met Adam.' The film fuses Amy Schumer's rah-rah feminism with Adam Sandler's Happy Madison shtick. The result? A fitfully amusing comedy that never delivers belly laughs but wins us over with it sweet underbelly. Blame Schumer's on-screen romance with Will Forte, a bond blossoming around one kinda huge fib. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAj2VFETzoM Schumer stars as Lainy, a 40-something whose longtime beau (Damon Wayans, Jr.) wants a threesome, not wedded bliss. Meanwhile, her very best friend Kate (Jillian Bell) is pregnant, and Lainy can't help but feel envious. It's everything she wants but
The Legacy Media furrowed its digital brow following Election Day 2024. Where is the Hollywood Resistance, article after article asked? We saw little celebrity blowback following President Donald Trump's impressive Nov. 5 victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. No Women's Marches that dreamed of blowing up the White House. No p-word pink hats adorning resistance protests nationwide. Some stars wouldn't even be seen with the actor who portrayed Trump in 'The Apprentice.' That's finally starting to change. The current awards season helped spur it on. Stars now have podium time to weigh in on their pet causes, and several did
Will Vinton’s “The Adventures of Mark Twain” (1985) is the only film to be made entirely in Vinton’s patented “Claymation” technique and remains a one-of-a-kind animated film. Vinton was already an Oscar winner for his short films. “Closed Monday” was Vinton’s breakthrough in 1974, an 8-minute stunner that resulted in the first Oscar ever given to a stop-motion animated work. By the 1980s, Vinton was building a reputation as an alternative animator in the age of Disney and Saturday morning cartoons. This movie, his only feature film, was a years-in-the-making showstopper that was intended to revolutionize his stop-motion brilliance to
“The Monkey” shouldn’t work on any level. The gimmick is simplistic to the point of ridicule. Most of the movie’s deaths are telegraphed a country mile away. You could jot the story down on a cocktail napkin with room left over for a stranger’s phone number. Maybe two. So why is it a cinch for the year’s Top 10 horror movie list? Writer/director Osgood Perkins, that’s why. The rising horror auteur (“Longlegs”) makes the most of the wafer-thin material, touching on family dysfunction in ways that give the story teeth. Not the titular monkey’s teeth, mind you. They’re scary enough.
Carroll Ballard’s “The Black Stallion” (1979) begins in a distinctly grown-up environment. The titular stallion is under the watch of cruel, uncaring attendants. A boy watches the stallion and gives him a sugar cube, their friendship immediately established. The setting is 1946 and young Alec Ramsey (Kelly Reno) is traveling on the ship with his father (Hoyt Axton), who we meet playing poker. Alec’s father dazzles his son with the tale of Bucephalus, Alexander the Great's horse. In the middle of the night, Alec and his father awake to the ship being on fire during a massive storm. While the
Yes, “Emilia Pérez” doesn't deserve as many Oscar nominations as it scored last month. Thirteen? It’s an insult to classics like “The Godfather” (11), “Citizen Kane” (9) and “Raging Bull' (8). The “Emilia Pérez” controversy grew worse when a journalist “resurfaced” star Karla Sofia Gascón’s old Tweets, a throwback to the Cancel Culture days of not-so-long-ago. The real issue is the movie itself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h7j_EcZ5fU&t=1s Few films have a worse moral compass than “Emilia Pérez.” That’s saying something for an industry which adores antiheroes and hit men. Today's Tinsel Town can't even figure out how to make a Boy Scout like
Streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon let us watch documentaries from the comfort of our homes. Annie Roney, the founder of the In Real Life (IRL) Movie Club, wants to bring film fans back to the theater. Why? “People are hungry for connection,” Roney says. “Film is a great way to meet other people.” We’re back this Sunday 9/15 with JOIN OR DIE, a doc showing the wide-ranging benefits of joining clubs & other groups. Presented w/ @IRLMovieClub. Hope to see you there...get your tix at the link! https://t.co/2FQ8yx2QYO @JoinOrDieFilm #movies #detroit #cinemadetroit pic.twitter.com/LSGiyBG2p7 — Cinema Detroit (@Cinema_Detroit) September 11,
Ellen Barkin is sticking with X, for now. The progressive star, best known for films like 'Sea of Love,' 'The Big Easy' and Netflix's 'The Out-Laws,' hasn't decamped for Bluesky like some fellow progressives. Think Stephen King, Jon Cryer, Barbra Streisand and more. That hasn't changed Barkin's political activism. In fact, Barkin just raged against the current White House spokesperson, a woman who became the youngest person in that position late last month. Karoline Leavitt is 27 years old, and she made an impressive debut as President Donald Trump's voice to the press. Okay, it was just her first, but
The heartland doesn’t get much love on the big screen. The vast region isn't slick or sassy, irreverent or cutting edge. It speaks to simple truths, the kind that give modern storytellers fits. Go too soft, and it’s Hallmark-lite. Push too hard, and it’s a lecture from Red State USA. “Green and Gold” threads that cultural needle. It’s inspired by true events but brims with the details that make the best stories pop. It’s also a unicorn in the pop culture landscape, a story with no easy answers or pat solutions. And it features a pair of powerful performances from
There's plenty to spoof about horror movies. The dumb decisions. The endless tropes. The heroes who leave the almost-dead killer breathing to slay again. Been there, 'Scream'd' that. 'Heart Eyes' isn't content to mock just one genre. It takes aim at rom-coms, too, delivering a dual-edge spoof that will make you jump out or your seat. How efficient. How entertaining. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cRzZcMlJh8&t=57s The Heart Eyes killer (or HEK) has turned Valentine's Day into a white-knuckled affair. The fiend moves from city to city, slashing love birds every Feb. 14. That hardly applies to Ally (Olivia Holt). She's still nursing wounds from
Watching Fox News' 'Gutfeld!' can be disorienting, even for conservatives. The late-night show tackles many of the jokes deemed off-limits to broadcast and cable TV shows. Think 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' ... 'The Tonight Show' and 'The Late Show,' among others. Wait ... we can joke about these things? Revolutionary! Here's just one example: They arrested 2 people who were hiding in Kamala’s house and some jokes about Karen Bass. Enjoy. #adamhunter #Gutfeld #FoxNews #KarenBass #Karen pic.twitter.com/bXTKmUBflZ — Adam Hunter (@AdamComedian) January 14, 2025 Need another? Late-night hosts have strenuously ignored Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom during the California wildfires. Not