Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Washington, DC this week. It's the first state visit by a Canadian leader in 19 years, and it comes just four months after he took office.
Considering the traction Trudeau has gained south of his border, it's not a surprise. He's becoming something of a cult hero in the US.
Story by Tony Manfred and editing by Ben Nigh
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Will Arnett's new Netflix comedy, "Flaked," is getting a big thumbs-down from television critics.
At the time of publishing, it had earned a 39/100 score on review-aggregation site Metacritic. That's the second-worst score ever for a Netflix original comedy, though it did beat "Fuller House." The spin-off got a 35 score (but it still got renewed for a second season).
For context, Netflix's highest-scoring comedy show on the site is Aziz Ansari's "Master of None," with a 91. "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" comes in at a far second with a 78 score.
On "Flaked," which comes out Friday, co-creator Will Arnett stars as Chip. He has carefully engineered a "guru-like" public persona that begins to break down lie by lie as he falls for the same girl his best friend is pursuing.
From a thin story line to a lack of laughs, here's what the critics are saying:
SEE ALSO: John Stamos reads the most brutal reviews of Netflix's 'Fuller House'
With so many good shows that seem similar in tone and style, there's bound to be some genre saturation for viewers. One critic feels that "Flaked" doesn't quite justify its own existence.
"There’s nothing inherently unwelcome about another portrait of a womanizing, self-hating middle-aged manchild in theory," wrote A.V. Club's Dennis Perkins. "... But for all of Arnett’s wet-eyed appeal (and for all the heavy lifting done by Stephen Malkmus’ score of on-the-nose indie rock), 'Flaked' fails to make the case that Chip’s self-pitying a--holery is unique enough to carry an entire series."
Critics pointed out that "Flaked" had some inconsistencies in tone and pace, and that story content seems too thin for a series.
"The series gets more substantive and quicker starting in episode six, but overall the pieces — man-boys on the prowl, bromance, occasional forays into seriousness — fit together uncomfortably," New York Times critic Neil Genzlinger said.
Las Vegas Weekly's Josh Bell wrote: "'Flaked' offers up weak jokes and even weaker drama, as later episodes pile on contrived, overwrought plot twists. A feature-film version could have tightened up the storytelling — or at least ended sooner."
Clearly when a show is called a comedy, it should produce some laughs. But "Flaked" seems to fall very short on this level.
The Hollywood Reporter critic Daniel Fienberg wrote, "In all of these L.A. neighborhood rom-drams, a running time of under 30 minutes dictates we call them comedies more than the tone necessarily does, so 'Flaked' episodes almost all run just a notch over 30 minutes and offer almost no laughs at all, daring you to change your classifications."
San Francisco Chronicle's David Wiegand agreed: "The new Netflix comedy 'Flaked' asks the question: Can a show be called a comedy if it has zero laughs?"
Watch the trailer for "Flaked" below:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/iKOpvm7BcOo
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"Loving Vincent" is an upcoming biopic about the tumultuous life and death of Vincent Van Gogh. The twist? Every single frame is an oil painting.
Story and editing by Ben Nigh
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President Obama is known for his fluency in pop culture, but it was still a surprise to see in a long new feature in the Atlantic about his foreign policy that he compared the terrorist group ISIS to a Batman movie.
According to the story, in 2014 Obama worried that US intelligence was not taking seriously enough the threat of ISIS, also known as ISIL, which has grown rapidly and is notorious for videos of beheadings and its use of social media for propaganda and recruiting.
Here's how Obama reportedly explained to advisers the group's relationship to the larger forces at work in the Middle East and why it could be so harmful:
Advisers recall that Obama would cite a pivotal moment in The Dark Knight, the 2008 Batman movie, to help explain not only how he understood the role of ISIS, but how he understood the larger ecosystem in which it grew. “There’s a scene in the beginning in which the gang leaders of Gotham are meeting,” the president would say. “These are men who had the city divided up. They were thugs, but there was a kind of order. Everyone had his turf. And then the Joker comes in and lights the whole city on fire. ISIL is the Joker. It has the capacity to set the whole region on fire. That’s why we have to fight it.”
This does in fact explain what makes Heath Ledger's Joker so terrifying, not just for Ledger's unhinged performance, but within the story of "The Dark Knight": He's free even from the relative system of rules abided by fellow criminals. He's total chaos and unpredictability — which is indeed how many see the threat of ISIS and its techniques.
Here's the scene from "The Dark Knight" Obama was referring to:
SEE ALSO: RANKED: Every actor who's played Batman, from best to worst
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NOW WATCH: The 10 most awkward moments from the 2016 Academy Awards
The spring semester for college students is slowly winding down, which means students in their senior year are getting ready to graduate — and schools are announcing the impressive speakers they've lined up for the event.
Harvard University announced that it has booked Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg to deliver the commencement speech this year, The Harvard Crimson reported on Thursday.
“Through his art, Mr. Spielberg has challenged us to dream and to see the world anew, and I am very much looking forward to welcoming him back to Harvard and to honoring him during our 365th Commencement exercises,” University President Drew G. Faust said in a press release Thursday.
Spielbergs films — "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," "Jurassic Park," and "Saving Private Ryan," to name a few — are American classics and massive box office hits.
Spielberg is in good company among Harvard's prior choice of commencement speakers who include Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and J.K. Rowling.
SEE ALSO: This might be the best graduation speech of all time
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Some TV networks are changing the way they develop and release new shows, and even commercials, as they struggle to get in step with the "binge-watching" phenomenon made popular by Netflix.
What does this look like?
A big component is a shift toward serialized shows, where the plot unfolds with each episode. This form lends itself more naturally to binge-watching than a show that wraps up every episode.
Viacom's TV Land network is developing more serialized programming, and earlier this year TBS launched its new comedy, "Angie Tribeca," by airing the entire 10-episode season in a 25-hour "binge-a-thon" on TBS.
TV executives are also working with advertisers to change commercials, so binge-viewers stay engaged. Experiments include making brands part of the show on Turner. CBS, meanwhile, is studying whether commercials themselves should be serialized to tell a story.
Networks used to cringe at serialized shows because they did not lend themselves well to syndication. Out-of-order reruns can be confusing, so program developers preferred series such as CBS hits "The Big Bang Theory" or "NCIS," which wrap up a story in each episode.
But with the rise of binge-watching, TV networks see a chance to hook viewers through cliffhangers. They make batches of current episodes available on-demand through cable boxes or online apps, and sell them later to the likes of Netflix.
Forty-six percent of millennials watch shows after they air, according to media researcher Comscore. And 42 percent of viewers binge-watch multiple episodes of a show, one to two times per month.
At TV Land, creative and marketing executive Kim Rosenblum said one new show, "Impastor," was rewritten from the pilot to drive the story across episodes and attract binge viewers.
The show follows slacker Buddy Dobbs who escapes from his gambling debt by pretending to be a preacher in a small town. To encourage people to keep watching, writers developed a story line about thugs hunting down Dobbs, giving each episode a cliffhanger, Rosenblum said.
"Instead of it being every episode as a standalone, we added a storyline that was told more episodically as the mystery unravels," she said.
Turner has added original, serialized shows like "The Alienist" and "Good Behavior," to TNT, which traditionally has been rerun heavy.
Binging viewers are also less likely to watch ads because most are watching them via their DVRs, which allow them to fast forward past commercials. Forty-three percent of viewers prefer to binge watch shows via their DVRs, compared to only 19 percent who do so through video on demand, according to Comscore.
To address this, Turner is ramping up brand placement in its shows, for example filming a scene of truTV's "The Carbonaro Effect" at Papa John's Pizza, which sponsored the episode.
CBS is considering adding serialized commercials, to make sure that binge viewers are not exposed to the same ad again and again, and draw them in with a story, said David Poltrack, chief research officer at CBS.
It all comes down to networks realizing that streaming video has become one of broadcast television's biggest threats, and potentially its salvation, said Dave Morgan, chief executive of Simulmedia, a New York-based ad tech firm.
"If they don't get viewership, they don't get paid," he said.
(Reporting By Jessica Toonkel; additional reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Henderson and Tom Brown)
SEE ALSO: 16 Netflix hacks that will take your binge-watching to the next level
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After creating the cult classic "Eastbound & Down," Danny McBride and director Jody Hill are coming back to HBO with their new series, "Vice Principals."
In it, McBride and Walton Goggins ("The Hateful Eight," "Justified") play vice principals of a high school who are vying for the open principal job. And as you can see in the trailer below, the two will go to some extreme lengths to beat the other for the gig.
"Eastbound & Down" thrived on being a dark comedy that found laughs through awkward and bizarre moments. We can only hope that continues with "Vice Principals."
The show premieres on HBO in July. Watch the trailer here:
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I went into Sacha Baron Cohen’s new movie, “The Brothers Grimsby,” with zero expectations, and I left having laughed uncontrollably for 83 straight minutes.
Yes, I’m shocked, too.
I haven’t really enjoyed anything the comedian has done since his 2006 hit “Borat,” but he has rebounded nicely here following the duds “Bruno” and “The Dictator.”
The best thing about “The Brothers Grimsby” is that it’s a hard-R-rated comedy that never slacks on being completely offensive — in the best way.
Baron Cohen plays Nobby, an English hoodlum from the town of Grimsby who spends his days getting drunk, watching English football, and making babies. His brother, Sebastian (Mark Strong), is an MI6 agent who has been estranged from his brother for 28 years. A chance encounter brings them back together, and Nobby ends up being Sebastian’s right-hand man for his next mission.
Honestly, the film’s plot isn’t why you are going to pay money to see this movie, so let’s get to why you would.
The jokes come often and, in Baron Cohen’s style, have a how-are-they-getting-away-with-this quality.
In one bit, a young boy with AIDS speaking at a world health summit is shot accidentally by Sebastian, and we watch the blood travel from the boy’s wound into the mouth of another attendee, “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe (yes, Daniel Radcliff, played by a lookalike, gets AIDS in this movie, but so does Donald Trump).
Then there’s a sequence in which, to escape from the bad guys, Nobby and Sebastian hide inside an elephant, then encounter other elephants. I’ll just leave it at that. If you need more, Baron Cohen showed the scene on Jimmy Kimmel and it got this reaction.
A pleasant surprise is the believable action, specifically the scenes in which we take the point of view of Nobby and Sebastian as they are kicking butt. We can thank the talents of director Louis Leterrier, who also did the first two “Transporter” films and “Now You See Me.”
Many are tired of Baron Cohen’s shtick, and I admittedly thought I was one of them, but “The Brothers Grimsby” has made me a fan again. Yes, he makes idiotic movies, but if you have around 80 minutes and love unapologetic, crude humor, this is the movie for you.
And though box office will dictate if this comes true, I would not be shocked if there’s a sequel. The movie has all the makings of a franchise.
I’m not kidding.
"The Brothers Grimsby" opens in theaters Friday.
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Sacha Baron Cohen's wife, actress Isla Fisher, revealed how crucial she was to Cohen's surprise Oscars appearance as character Ali G.
Cohen had been on probation after he appeared in character from his movie "The Dictator" and spilled late North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il's "ashes" on Ryan Seacrest during a red carpet interview.
"He managed to wrangle his way in," Fisher explained on Thursday's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" "But he said, 'I want to sneak in and do Ali G, but I can't fit it on my body because they're going to put me through metal detectors, and be ultra-suspicious, and, sweetie, will you fit giant yellow glasses, a hat, a glove, and a beard inside your Spanx?'"
Yes, Spanx has never had a better spokesperson for the undergarment's ability to keep it all in and looking svelte.
"You're used to taking hair off down there to go to events, instead of adding considerable amount of beard. And then I had to fit the yellow glasses to insert them too. So it was a challenge to sit down," she went on.
In a video, Fisher showed how she and Cohen snuck away to a bathroom during the Oscars in order to piece together his costume. Fisher applied his beard and admitted, "I am really stressed out, actually..."
"We had to sneak in there for like 45 minutes," the "Now You See Me" actress said. "People were banging on the door, and 'Sacha's got to come out now,' and they're wearing headsets, and I'm really scared of authority. I hate being told off. I'm a real goody-two-shoes."
To buy some time, she told the Oscars crew that Cohen was having stomach problems. But then they brought her Tums. "I had to eat them."
That's love.
Watch Fisher describe the entire crazy scheme below:
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By all accounts, Eddie Redmayne is killing it.
But we're not talking about his numerous acting awards, including the Best Actor Oscar he won in 2015.
No, we're talking about his style game. It's so off-the-charts incredible, we named him the most stylish guy in the world right now.
Basically, it all comes down to this: there isn't anyone else around that can wear suits as well as he does. And it's not like he has just one suit that fits him really well and he wears it all the time.
No, the man has a closet full of suits of every color, shape, style, and texture. He's worn velvet suits, tuxedos in every color, and he's rocked them all. Miraculously, they all fit him like they were born to hug his slender 5'11" frame.
Redmayne has spoken to his love of tailoring and suits, telling Men's Health that he's "always worn suits", so he "always felt at ease in them".
"Maybe wearing them makes me feel subconsciously like I have a proper job," Redmayne said. "A well-cut suit feels like armor. If it’s tailored to fit, you feel strong."
As for his look, Redmayne describes it as "simple and classic." He prefers to add substance with texture and color.
What can you learn from Redmayne's killer style? There's one main takeaway: tailoring matters. He looks like a million bucks in every suit he wears because each one is tailored to fit him perfectly.
So, yes, it is possible to copy Redmayne's style. And every guy should strive to look as good as he does in a suit.
SEE ALSO: The 15 most stylish guys in the world right now, ranked
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"The Tick" could fight crime again with an upcoming live-action comedy for Amazon.
Ben Edlund, who created the 2001 Fox show and the 1994 animated series based on the comic-book character, is behind the reboot as well, Deadline reports. He will executive-produce and write the pilot episode.
No word yet on who will be playing the title role, but the site reports that "Vinyl" actor Griffin Newman will play the hero's sidekick, Arthur Everest, and "The Following" actress Valorie Curry will play Arthur's sister, Dot Everest.
Original executive producer Barry Josephson is also returning with Edlund for the project, which comes from studio Sony Pictures Television. "Transcendence" director Wally Pfister is reportedly in negotiations to direct the pilot.
An Amazon Studios representative told Business Insider he couldn't confirm the project.
A parody of comic-book superheroes, "The Tick" follows its title character, who is oafish, annoying, tends to speak in platitudes, and seems to have just accidentally fallen into the position of superhero.
The 2001 Fox series starred Patrick Warburton ("Crowded") in the title role and only lasted nine episodes. Despite its short life, critics appreciated the show. David Burke ("Nashville," "Bunheads") played Arthur.
The 1994 animated series aired for three seasons on Saturday mornings, also on Fox.
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Kanye West's Yeezy line is getting somewhat more affordable.
GQ has the list of prices for the mogul's third season, and the website points out that it's less expensive than his other seasons. Previously, he going rate for a pair of sweatpants was approximately $510 USD. A camouflage trench coat was approximately $2,500 USD. A thermal tank top was approximately $307.
However, for the forthcoming season, consumers might not have to entirely refinance their mortgages. It's $725 for an Anorak jacket, $350 for workout pants, and $195 for a knit t-shirt. GQ notes that some prices are flat-out slashed in half from before, pointing to a hoodie that was previously hovering around $600 that will be selling for $300 this time around.
GQ points out that Kanye's Yeezy 2 was cheaper than Season 1, which suggests a trend — and that Kanye West might even be an advocate for the consumer.
It's a smart move on West's account, and perhaps it proves that he is, in fact, a smart retailer. A recent Tweet proved that he understood the concept of fast fashion, even his clothes do not fall in that category at all.
I just thought of the craziest idea of all ... I'm going to sell winter coats in the winter!!!
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 24, 2016
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Director Paul Feig has worked with Melissa McCarthy in three films, including “Bridesmaids,” a breakout role for her. So it shouldn’t come as a shock that when he began writing the script for the new all-female “Ghostbusters,” he thought of the actress playing the outlandish member of the team, Patty Tolan.
But in a piece in Empire, Feig admits that during casting for the film, he changed his mind.
“When Katie [Dippold, Feig’s co-writer] and I wrote the script, we had written the role with Melissa in mind, but then I thought I’ve seen Melissa play a brash, larger-than-life character. She’s done it in my movies before!” Feig said.
That opened the door for “Saturday Night Live” cast member Leslie Jones to take the role. But the casting of the black comedian has resulted in outrage from some who claim the movie is stereotyping by putting the only star of color in the non-scientist, loudmouthed role.
The Patty character is a New York City MTA worker who teams up with three scientists (played by McCarthy, Kirsten Wiig, and Kate McKinnon) to take on the rampant paranormal activity that’s suddenly hit New York City.
Both Jones and Feig have gone on social media to defend the performance. Jones openly considered leaving Twitter after all the negative comments she's gotten on the platform.
Why can't a regular person be a ghostbuster. Im confused. And why can't i be the one who plays them i am a performer. Just go see the movie!
Regular People save the world everyday so if I'm the sterotype!! Then so be it!! We walk among Heroes and take them for granted.
— Leslie Jones (@Lesdoggg) March 4, 2016
ITS NOT A MAN, WOMAN, RACE, CLASS THANG!! ITS A GHOSTBUSTER THANG!! AND AS FAR AS IM CONCERNED WE ALL GHOSTBUSTERS!! STAND TALL!!
— Leslie Jones (@Lesdoggg) March 4, 2016
Don't leave us, @Lesdoggg. You are a goddess & one of the warmest funniest forces of nature I know. Fuck the haters. https://t.co/rwh8CIxCk4
— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) March 8, 2016
And haters, attack me all you want but when you attack and insult my cast, you've crossed the line. Grow up and leave my cast alone.
— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) March 8, 2016“This is the role that Leslie can shine comedically in,” Feig said. “If you’ve ever seen her do stand-up, it’s just who she is. I wanted to unleash Leslie on the public in the same way we unleashed Melissa on the public in ‘Bridesmaids,’ with a very showy role.”
From the trailer it looks like it will be just that.
“Ghostbusters” opens in theaters July 15.
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It was all-out war on Thursday's "Conan" when Sarah Silverman appeared in full Hitler costume to address recent comparisons between the Nazi leader and Donald Trump in an outrageous — and to some, possibly offensive — bit.
After entering with a wave that looked a lot like a Nazi salute, Silverman, a Jewish comedian who's not known for holding back, gave Hitler's take on the Trump connection.
"Don't get me wrong, Conan. I agree with a lot he says, a lot," she explained to Conan O'Brien. "Like 90% of what he says, I'm like this guy gets it. But I don't like the way he says it. It's crass, you know?"
For example, Silverman's Hitler felt Trump was wrong to refer to his penis during a debate, but probably not for the reason you'd think.
"I'm so sure Donald Trump has a big penis," Silverman's Hitler said. "I famously have a micropenis. That's what makes a tyrant."
After O'Brien expressed that he was sorry to hear that, Silverman took it up a notch.
"If I had a gold filling every time I heard that," she said. "Oh, I can't believe Hitler went there."
In the end, Silverman had to clear the air on the comparisons: "It bums me out... Sometimes, I watch him and I wonder, 'Is that how people see me?'"
Watch Hitler-Silverman take on the comparisons below:
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On January 8, drug kingpin Joaquín Guzmán Loera, better known as El Chapo, was recaptured, having escaped from a Mexican prison through a customized underground tunnel system on July 11, 2015.
A day later, Rolling Stone published an interview actor Sean Penn had conducted with the drug lord three months after he had made the infamous escape. The interview, brokered by Mexican actress Kate del Castillo, may have led to El Chapo's capture this year, according to a Mexican official.
But del Castillo says not everything Penn wrote about is accurate, though he continues to claim it is.
In an interview with the New Yorker that just came out online, del Castillo tells her side of the story.
Penn claims that del Castillo was aware of the Rolling Stone story before the two headed to Mexico to meet El Chapo. Del Castillo calls Penn's statement “total and complete bulls---.”
She says that she initially thought he was interested in joining her as a partner for the film project she was working on about El Chapo (the drug lord's interest in such a film is what led to del Castillo previously meeting with the drug lord's lawyers).
She says she only became aware of Penn's article when the actor mentioned it during the in-person meeting with El Chapo.
Penn and del Castillo were joined by two producers on their trip, and they both recall the article being discussed at different times, but before the meeting with El Chapo.
Penn wrote that the actress' first correspondence with El Chapo happened when a lawyer for the drug lord reached out to her for an address in order to send flowers. Del Castillo claims that they had wanted to send flowers, but never did, and she only learned of that plan after having lunch with two of El Chapo's lawyers in September 2014, a meeting that took place more than two years after she tweeted about her distrust of the Mexican government, which got El Chapo's attention.
There's another disagreement about an alleged strange encounter with the Mexican military as the group was on the way to El Chapo's hidden location. As Penn writes:
“And then, as it seems we are at the entrance of Oz, the highest peak visibly within reach, we arrive at a military checkpoint. Two uniformed government soldiers, weapons at the ready, approach our vehicle. Alfredo lowers his passenger window; the soldiers back away, looking embarrassed, and wave us through. Wow. So it is, the power of a Guzmán face. And the corruption of an institution.”
Del Castillo, Sulichin, and Ibáñez all deny that this encounter took place. But del Castillo did look over Penn's final draft and never attempted to correct that discrepancy, though she says she didn't read the story in its entirety when presented with the draft on Penn's phone.
The actress is currently under investigation by the Mexican government for money laundering because of her connection to the drug lord. She calls this a "witch hunt." El Chapo has said he would testify on her behalf.
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Actor Aaron Paul has not made it a secret that he loves Stephen King’s epic book series “The Dark Tower” and that he really wants to be in the movie adaptation.
In 2012, he tweeted out to his fans that it would be a “HUGE dream” to be in the movie.
Then in 2014, he told Ain’t It Cool News that he’d had a “ton of meetings” about the movie, including with Ron Howard, who is a producer on the film.
The “Breaking Bad” star would love to play the drug-addicted gunslinger Eddie Dean from the book series, who's tied to the central protagonist. And it’s hard to argue with the guy who brought Jesse Pinkman to legend status in “Breaking Bad.”
He's still campaigning for the part. Following the recent news that Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba will star in the movie, followed by rumors that Paul had been cast, Paul and Stephen King had this exchange on Twitter:
@aaronpaul_8 Indeed I will. I'm a big fan.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) March 9, 2016“Rumors are a funny thing,” Paul said. “These rumors about ‘The Dark Tower’ have come up a handful of times over the last couple of years. There's always a big part of me that thinks, ‘What don't I know?’ Just wishful thinking. I'm a huge fan of that book series for many years and the idea of them turning it into a franchise is very exciting to me. As a fan.”
A very coy answer for a guy who has been vocal about wanting the Eddie Dean role for years. And what about the King tweets?
“It was funny [tweeting] out to Stephen King last night,” he said. “That's the wonder of the internet. It's the power of numbers: get enough people to retweet something, someone might see it.”
There was a gleam in Paul’s eye when he told us this. There’s no doubt he wants in on the film. But as with everything in Hollywood, leverage is key, and it seems Paul is still searching for it.
Aaron Paul's dedicated fans may help him there. They already think he's a sure bet for the movie thanks to Jesse Pinkman. The actor does acknowledge there are some similarities between the drug-pushing high school dropout on "Breaking Bad" and Eddie Dean, but he's also ready to go somewhere new with his talents.
"That is why people think I would make a great Eddie Dean, the smartass drug addict. But it's a completely different character, it's not Jesse Pinkman," he said. "And I love that."
SEE ALSO: Sacha Baron Cohen's "The Brothers Grimsby" is foul and obscene, and I loved every second of it
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In 2008, J.J. Abrams unleashed a different kind of monster movie on the world with "Cloverfield." The producer worked with director Matt Reeves (who would go on to do “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”) and screenwriter Drew Goddard (Oscar-nominated this year for “The Martian”) on the found-footage thriller about a creature that attacks New York City.
The movie made a modest box office of $170 million worldwide (a success given its equally modest budget of $25 million), and was basically written off as a fun lark for three friends.
Then a few months ago, when the trailer for “10 Cloverfield Lane” went online, everyone realized that Abrams (the only member of the trio from the original to return) had pulled off making a sequel with very few knowing it was even in the works.
Opening today and backed with a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (it’s projected to make around $20 million this weekend), “10 Cloverfield Lane” isn’t just the first surprise hit of the year. It could also be the launch of a franchise. As our review of the movie proclaims: “This looks like the start of something great.”
Here’s why the critics are so in love with this movie.
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And that’s a good thing, seeing as most probably haven’t thought about the film for eight years.
“'10 Cloverfield Lane' is, as Abrams puts it, a ‘spiritual successor’ … [with] a hint of overlap here, a pinch of DNA there,” GamesRadar+ writes.
In fact, the movie, directed by first-timer Dan Trachtenberg, started as its own standalone thriller, but was thrust into the “Cloverfield” mythology deep into its production.
Many critics have pointed out that its eerie atmosphere is similar to a story you’d find from the classic 1950s Rod Serling TV show.
As USA Today writes, it “mixes elements of an intimate stage play with the white-knuckled tension of a cracking good ‘Twilight Zone’ episode.”
And you can’t get any closer to what Serling did on his show than this observation about the movie by the LA Times: "'10 Cloverfield Lane' posits that perhaps the real damage is to be done not by outside invaders but by those already among us."
Part of the horror comes from that fact that the movie takes place in a bunker deep below the surface. So it might be good to bring someone to hold onto when you feel the theater walls closing in on you.
“At one point, this movie had me so on edge that I had a fleeting impulse to run out of the theater,” SFGate said.
"'10 Cloverfield Lane' does a spectacular job of capturing nightmare logic," The Guardian writes. "You sense danger even if you can’t explain it."
Henry Cavill has been thrust into big blockbusters over the last few years as the new Superman, and with that comes a whole lot of money.
It’s not something that actors on Cavill's level are very open about, but the star of “Man of Steel” and the upcoming “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” didn’t hold back when he told Man of the World magazine why he’s in the business.
"I’m not just doing this for the art,” he said. “The money’s fantastic and that’s something which I deem... very important.”
Cavill admits that saying this “can be frowned upon” within the industry. But now that he's a star, he enjoys the finer things in life. And not just for him, but his friends, too.
“When I’m making money I’m spending it on nice stuff, whether that be lavish holidays for me and my friends or just seeing something and going in a shop and saying, ‘Yeah, I want that for the house,’ I’m buying it," he said. "Spending money on my friends, buying dinner for everyone, drinks for everyone, it’s a nice place to be, and I like people to feel cared for.”
The English actor grew up in the Channel Islands, where his mother was a secretary in a bank and his father was a stockbroker. After bouncing around TV and movies, he got his big break as the latest Superman when he was cast for 2013's “Man of Steel.”
Though Cavill doesn’t state how much he’s making as a superhero, it certainly sounds like he’s living the high life. And he’s not apologizing for it.
"People will be calling me a c--- as they’re reading this," he said, "but travel’s great as long as you’re going first class. I mean, traveling to New Zealand in economy, it sucks. Especially if you’re over six feet. But first class? I’m not going to ever pretend to be coy about that. I love it.”
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” opens March 25.
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It's no secret that Victoria's Secret likes to airbrush its models. Sometimes, they're missing parts of their rear ends. Other times, they're missing arms.
Now a model is being accused of airbrushing herself.
Case in point: Shanina Shaik, a model who has walked the runway for the lingerie company multiple times. Cosmopolitan pointed out that there's something usual about a photo she posted to Instagram.
Here's the picture in question:
A Business Insider employee pointed out that Shaik probably just used FaceTune, a Photoshop-like app that lets you slim your physique in photos.
Though Shaik is obviously not posting for Victoria's Secret, it's worth noting that she is a public figure and a little airbrushing faux pas goes a long way, especially since consumers are becoming savvier and more attuned to what's real and what's not. Proof? Photoshop-free Aerie saw sales climb a whopping 20% in fiscal 2015.
SEE ALSO: The worst retail Photoshop disasters of all time
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Daisy Ridley, 23, went from being relatively unknown to the name everybody was talking about when casting for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was announced in 2014.
Rey emerged as the star of the new series of films, and Ridley will be reprising the character for at least two more "Star Wars" films.
But the actress might be joining a new franchise soon; a new rumor says Ridley might be taking on the role of Lara Croft in a "Tomb Raider" reboot.
Here's your introduction to the star:
SEE ALSO: How Zac Efron got incredibly ripped for the 'Baywatch' movie
Source: Entertainment Weekly
Source: Entertainment Weekly
Source: Daily Mail
