After a week full of 60+ degree weather in New York, I'm officially read to slam the laptop shut and enter the weekend. I'm bathing suit shopping online, I'm spending time basking in the short-lived early spring weather, and I'm absolutely gearing up to make another playlist to get through the weekend.
Since this weekend is St. Patrick's Day, I'm sure many of you are traveling to hotspots like Boston and New York for parades and soul-crushing crowds. The only way to get through this weekend of horrors? Lots of music, and even more green beer. Doctor's orders.
But, you can't keep replaying your same old playlist with songs your friends have heard come over your speakers time and time again. People will stop letting you get aux if you can't deliver a dance-worthy playlist that's both refreshing and timeless. That's where I come in, dear reader.
I love to deliver a playlist filled with new music releases today, March 15, 2024. So get your Spotify accounts ready, because it's time to see what's in store for this week! Let's get listening.
ZAYN- "What I Am"
He's baaaacckkk. Former member of One Direction, Zayn Malik, left the band (and should be paying my therapy bills for this) in 2015 and completely switched direction (pun intended). Now an R&B soul god, ZAYN has found his stride with "What I Am."
“I think just being where I was at that time, staying away from things and living with my own thoughts inspired me to want to write something from that place. I’ve got to put this out as a whole body of work, it’s something for myself, not even just for the world,” says Zayn.
I worried at first that ZAYN wouldn't be able to create a stylistically different track without sounding repetitive. "What I Am" highlights his vocals without going overboard, conveys yearning, longing, and melancholy all in one. It's an easy listen. Zayn Malik, you'll always be famous.
Cardi B- "Enough (Miami)"
If you've been missing Old Cardi, she's here. With "Enough (Miami)", Cardi goes back to her roots: classic rap, biting lyrics, a hook that gets you out of your seat. It's reminiscent of classics like "Bodak Yellow", where Cardi tells it as it is: you can't beat her, you can't even be her.
Kacey Musgraves- "The Architect"
With one of the most satisfyingly crisp voices in country music, Kacey Musgraves delivers "The Architect" on a silver platter. It's introspective, beckoning the listener to really look inside themselves and wonder who's the architect of their lives. A song about not fully understanding someone, something, or everything, "The Architect" is one-of-a-kind.
Ahead of her new album, Deeper Well, which she promises to be a "cleanse" of sorts for listeners, "The Architect" is a great intro.
Zack Bia, Teezo Touchdown- "DAMN"
Any weekend should be met with house music, which is why Zack Bia and Teezo Touchdown's "DAMN" is a perfect fit. Something light and easy, "DAMN" is the perfect track to lead off a night out, or to help you get hyped up while getting ready. Zack Bia is known for his commitment to the nightlife scene, so it's no surprise that this track embodies a night out with your friends.
Sydney Sherrill- "Boy In The Blue Cadillac"
Alongside her debut album, 17 Young and Stunning, Sydney Sherrill releases vocal powerhouse single, "Boy In The Blue Cadillac." Few singer-songwriters can belt out a commanding chorus riddled with guitar trills and have such an impact as Sydney Sherrill does.
Singing from the perspective of her 17-year-old self, 17 Young and Stunning, takes us through the throes of adolescence. From finding your first love to figuring out who you really are in the world, Sherrill knows how confusing growing up can be. "Boy In The Blue Cadillac" sends you back in time in the best way.
Cloonee- "Sippin' Yak (We Like)"
Cloonee is in high demand: with both weekends of Coachella booked, a headline LIV Beach Las Vegas residency, a show at the Brooklyn Mirage, and more, fans flock to see a performance no matter where he is. After teasing "Sippin' Yak" on socials and in live sets, Cloonee is finally releasing the track ahead of all of these major performances.
"Sippin' Yak (We Like)" is an instant hit for fans of tech house with an intricate eye for production and style.
Neil Young, formerly part of iconic folk rock supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, is hailed as one of music's greatest. He's blended folk rock with country in innovative ways for decades, his music the blueprint of budding artists today. Loved by millions, Neil Young's music could be found on streaming platforms the world over...until 2022.
When Joe Rogan's podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, spread misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccination, artists like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young called for the removal of their music from Spotify. In a short-lived movement, these artists hoped to make a statement. To "stick it to the man", if you will.
Many of the artists who pulled their music from the platform have since returned. Because, at the end of the day, Spotify is the #1 streaming platform in the world. With the most users and traction, thousands of artists thrive on the app. Artists like Neil Young became popular at times when revolutionizing through music was the edgy, popular thing to do...however, Spotify is a misdirected target in this situation. Get mad at Joe Rogan for saying it.
And recently, Neil Young announced he is returning to "low res" Spotify via his website, Neil Young Archives. He states,
"Spotify, the #1 streamer of low res music in the world - Spotify where you get less quality than we made, will now be home of my music again. My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I had opposed at SPOTIFY. I cannot just leave Apple and Amazon, like I did Spotify, because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all, so I have returned to Spotify, in sincere hopes that Spotify sound quality will improve"
As the #1 streaming platform in music, that means you lose a lot of streams from removing your discography from the app. Coincidentally, Neil Young is releasing an album with Crazy Horse on April 20, 2024 called F##IN' UP -- a perfect time to return to the app if you ask me.
When you think of basketball shoes, your mind instantly zooms to Nike. You think of the Greatest Of All Time. Michael Jordan has created an empire of Air Jordan sneakers with a competitive resale market behind them.
But there was a world before Michael Jordan – before Nike took the leap and offered Jordan a stake in the company for a shoe deal. Before MJ, Nike meant zero in the basketball world. They sold him on the pitch that it’s about who’s in the shoes, not the shoes themselves. But before MJ, what kicks were players wearing?
Oddly enough, Converse. Yes, the popular high-top canvas sneaker was once the instrument of that satisfying symphony of squeaking you hear on the courts. And there was one style in particular that dominated the market: the Converse Weapon.
The History Of The Converse Weapon
Converse Weapon Ads
Converse
The Converse Weapon’s slogan was fittingly “more of NBA’s big guns are wielding a new Weapon.” That was a humble nod to the players who filled the popular leather sneaker like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isaiah Thomas, and Mark Aguirre (to name a few.)
In the late 80’s, every player was wearing the Converse Weapon. With NBA legend, Philadelphia 76er Julius Erving, already under the Converse belt, the Weapon was their most elevated design yet.
And of course- there’s the much-documented Larry Bird-Magic Johnson feud that helped Converse market their shoe further. Both players dominated in the Weapons, so when they faced off, billboards showed photos of the two with the tagline, “Choose Your Weapon.”
By signing so many stars to their studded roster, Converse had everyone wearing their shoes. But exclusivity wins in the end. Nike gives everything they have to Michael Jordan, and Michael Jordan alone…and they take over as the dominating basketball shoe.
In 2024, nostalgia-core is a huge trend. We love to recycle, which is why 70’s style bell bottoms are back and Y2k low-rise mini skirts are somehow still going strong. Fur vests aren’t avant-garde, neither are loose bottoms with smaller tops.
The time is right for the Converse Weapon to make its great return. Really leaning into the nostalgia, Converse shared that the shoe is dropping in familiar colorways and the same leather, chunky high-top style we all know and love.
This is a part of Converse’s CX Project, which has already re-imagined the classic Chuck Taylor canvas sneaker. Using the original 1986 blueprint for their design, CX added their foam midsole and redesigned the outsole.
Not only are they bringing back the style made popular by Magic Johnson, but they’re also using one of the most fashionable NBA All-Stars, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as the face of the shoe’s new era.
The new slogan is “Make History, Not Hype.” It’s a not-so-subtle dig at competing brands like Under Armour who have built their brand around big names like rapper Jack Harlow (who starred in the reboot of the 1992 basketball film, White Men Can’t Jump.)
Converse wants to let performance do the talking. Legacy doesn’t hurt either. With such a historic shoe, it just makes sense to invite SGA to be the face of the resurgence.
“It's an iconic shoe for many reasons,” Gilgeous-Alexander told GQ, “but it's cool to bring back these ‘80s sneakers in their original look and colors. I’m all about vintage, so this silhouette coming back just feels right.”
Gilgeous-Alexander may have piqued the interest of the non-basketball-obsessed internet with his MSCHF Big Red Boots, his presence at Fashion Weeks across the world, or simply his pregame fits. But on the court, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is just as show-stopping. He’s really having himself a year.
Who Is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?
SGA for Converse Weapon
GQ
SGA is a point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, a first-round draft pick in 2018 who is averaging 22 points per game in his career so far. But what’s set him apart from the rest this year despite his dominant statlines are his leadership abilities.
Shai has quickly become a frontrunner in talks for the NBA’s MVP race this year, alongside greats like Denver Nuggets’ center Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antektokounmpo.
This season alone, he’s averaging over 30 ppg and the Thunder are second in the Western Conference, with a 42-19 record.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the perfect fit for Converse for so many reasons: he’s one of the best in the game right now, he’s one of the leading fashion entities in the sports industry, and he’s not slowing down.
Converse thinks SGA is the perfect fit to usher in a new generation of the shoe…and so do we.
Omar Rudberg as Simon, Edvin Ryding as Wilhelm in Young Royals Season 3
Johan Paulin/Netflix
Spoiler alert: This contains spoilers for Young Royals Season 1 and Young Royals Season 2. If you haven’t watched those, I envy you. Your life is about to change. No spoilers for Young Royals Season 3.
I’ve been obsessed with Young Royals since it crossed my Netflix recommendation list. Marathoning episode after episode of Young Royals Season 3, I couldn’t stop thinking: Teens today are so spoiled.
Everybody says it, but it’s true. Teens have it so much easier. Sure, they must have unique problems. But queer teenagers have one thing I didn’t have: an abundance of queer cinema.
In high school, I watched every contemporary queer film available to me. With Tumblr as my launch point, I started with actual queer films like Blue Is The Warmest Color and then moved on to films with achingly intense queer subtext like Black Swan.
As for television, my life changed alongside everyone else’s when Ryan Murphy released Glee, the most unhinged and revelatory show I've seen to this day. Rewatching that show is more absurd each time — but no one was doing it like they were. A gay character that had an actual storyline including, but not limited to, his sexuality? It was the blueprint.
I also watched every single other show that Tumblr gave the stamp of approval for having queer storylines, even if they were merely in the background. It’s the only reason I watched Shameless to the end — which you may know as the launchpad for Jeremy Allen White - but I know for its groundbreaking queer relationship.
Between episodes of shows like Shameless and Eyewitness, I expanded to foreign films and TV. Not like a pretentious indie boy, but as someone starved for queer content, I’d take what I could get. I watched brooding Norwegian films like Jongens and North Sea Texas alongside soapy shows like SKAM because they were all I had.
Now, queer teens have Heartstopper, Everything Now, Sex Education, and more — and those are just the gay shows on Netflix. But some things never change: International queer TV is still top tier. After watching Young Royals Season 3, I can confirm that this season has some of the best episodes of TV I’ve ever watched. Tense and tender, Young Royals works because it leans into the messiness of adolescence, the idealism of youth, and the beauty of queerness to paint a portrait that feels grounded in reality but also infinitely hopeful.
When Will Young Royals Season 3 Come Out?
After months of commenting on @NetflixNordic Instagram posts (guilty), fans finally got an answer to their most pressing question: “When does Young Royals Season 3 come out?”
Alongside the Young Royals Season 3 trailer, we got not just one release date, but two.
Young Royals Season 3 is out now on Netflix. The first five episodes of the third and final season dropped on Monday, March 11th. But the show isn’t over yet. The final episode of Young Royals Season 3 will be released on Monday, March 18th.
Watch the Young Royals Season 3 trailer here:
Young Royals: Season 3 | Official Trailer | Netflixwww.youtube.com
Maybe teens today do have it hard — their dopamine-deprived brains have to wait a whole week for an episode of TV.
Season 3 will be released alongside a documentary, Young Royals Forever, about the making of the show. The show will chronicle the journey of this certified queer classic from casting to the final line of Young Royals Season 3. After that, it will truly be over.
Watch the Young Royals Forever trailer here:
Young Royals Forever | Official Clip | Netflixwww.youtube.com
What is Young Royals Season 3 about?
In a 2023 Netflix Nordic interview with Edvin Ryding and co-creators Rojda Sekersöz and Lisa Ambjörn, Edvin said, “We never problematize sexuality. We never problematize what is outside the norm. But rather, we problematize the norm.”
And it’s this problematic, normative world that Young Royals Season 3 explores. Wilhelm (Edvin Ryding) — Crown Prince of Sweden and king of grand gestures — ended Young Royals Season 2 by telling all of Sweden about his relationship with Simon (Omar Rudberg). But now that the world knows about their relationship, the world can intrude. Suddenly the two are battling Instagram comments as well as the centuries-old expectations of the Swedish monarchy. And unlike candied representations of boys-vs-monarchy we’ve recently seen (ahem, Red, White & Royal Blue), the powers that be put up a formidable fight.
The Season 3 teaser trailer (which I watched an unspeakable number of times), saw Wilhem and Simon together for the first time in the Palace. Season 2 began in the palace too. The Wille we found there was battling grief and betrayal, dreaming of a relationship with Simon that seemed out of reach. He references these dreams to Simon in Episode 1 of this season, saying: “It’s not how I imagined it.”
Indeed, the season that follows is not how Wille could have imagined it. Nor any of us. None of the fan theories and predictions have even scratched the surface of what ensues in Young Royals Season 3. And that’s to say nothing of the finale.
For years, fans and critics alike have applauded Young Royals for representation. It was cast with actual teenagers (though they’ve grown up over the four years since the show began), and small details like showing textured skin and normal outfits (as normal as the old-money Hillerska crowd gets) set it apart from teen shows like Riverdale, Euphoria, and even the Spanish hit Elité.
Mental health is also a major theme of the show. Our troubled protagonist Wilhelm has been struggling with so much in just one term at Hillerska — thank goodness he goes to therapy. Over the last three seasons, Edvin Rydings has put on a masterclass in portraying characters with mental health issues. The progression of how Wilhelm externalizes his anxiety is also telling of how the plot develops. Every choice is intentional, from the subtle lip-biting to the gut-wrenching screams. In Season 2, he was finally starting to connect how the outdated traditions he is beholden to contribute to his mental state. In Young Royals Season 3, will he finally figure it out?
For Simon, social class has always been an obvious barrier between him and the privileged Hillerska elite. But unlike his sister Sara, he doesn’t feel the need to change himself to fit in with his upper-class peers. Despite their taunts, he stands up for himself and speaks his mind. Season 3 asks: can he still do this under the watchful eye of the Royal Family?
The only critique I might have had of the representation in Young Royals Season 1 and Young Royals Season 2 was its quiet examination of race. Was it too quiet? Too subtle? Small gestures were obvious to me, a keen-eyed viewer who was also one of very few non-white students at a tiny boarding school. Things like Felice changing her hair from pressed to curly — and experiencing microaggressions because of it. Or Simon and Sara being ostracized not just for their class, but for their race.
In Young Royals Season 3, it becomes clear that the creators were building a foundation to thoroughly explore in this concluding act. From Felice’s racial disillusionment after being used as a token Black student to Simon's thrust into the spotlight and being dubbed a “typical Latin lover,” race is foregrounded in a new way this season. All these things create a world that becomes unteneable for our two protagonists to navigate. And how they stumble across it, experiencing friction at every turn and unable to communicate what they mean without who they are getting in the way, reflects so clearly the pitfalls of youth.
Is Young Royals Season 3 good?
The test of a good show is if you can stick by its characters even as they frustrate you. I, an adult woman, want to shake these Swedish boys all season. I want to force them into a room to really talk, to make them explain how they see things so that their differences stop surprising them. They have moments where they come to small revelations. “Isn’t that supposed to be a good thing,” Wille says of their differences in a Season 3 episode. “Aren’t we supposed to learn from each other?”
But moments like these are obstructed by what Young Royals Season 3 portrays so well: the inherent selfishness of youth. Even as they try their best to be there for each other, all the characters are clearly motivated by their own urgent, teenage desires. They’re also blinded by their teenage insecurities, thinking every problem they face is somehow their fault. Cue the miscommunication trope. In the words of a now-bygone TikTok trend: It’s a canon event, I can’t interfere.
And while we don’t know how it ends — we’ll have to wait for the finale for that — whatever happens, it will have been bold, brilliant, and beautiful. Young Royals Season 3, don’t break my heart!
Nicholas Galitzine in SXSW Closing Night Film, "The Idea of You"
Courtesy of Prime Video
All the cool film girlies just came back from Berlin. Specifically, they are fresh from the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, and they still smell like cigarettes to prove it. Between anecdotes about how Berghain is ruined, they’re telling me how they watched Cillian Murphy (my father, emotionally) give another masterful, award-worthy performance in the Enda Walsh adaptation of Claire Keegan’s novel Small Things Like These. This is apropos of nothing, except that I was not in Berlin, so I will have to wait alongside everyone else to see one of my favorite books on screen later this year.
But how can I be bitter? This week, half of Los Angeles will flock to Texas for South By Southwest in Austin, and I’ll be delightfully distracted by a whole new slate of upcoming releases premiering at this year’s festival. There are so many new films to be excited about premiering at the festival — even without Cillian Murphy’s cheekbones.
Let’s get into it.
What is SXSW?
I’m in for a week of acronyms: SXSW in ATX FTW - LFG!! South By Southwest (aka SXSW or SX or South By) is a film festival, music festival, and industry conference all rolled into one. Fueled by Texas BBQ and Torchy’s Tacos, creative people in the tech, film, music, education, and culture industries swarm from theater to concert hall and conference room networking (allegedly), writing pretentious reviews about the future of culture (guilty), and being menaces to the residents of Austin by causing even worse traffic jams than the city is used to— and I can’t wait.
When is SXSW 2024?
SXSW 2024 will be held from March 8 - 16 2024. Highly anticipated events include Rolling Stone’s Future of Music Series (my artists to watch are Flo Milli and Faye Webster), and the SXSW Music Festival (which, this year, includes The Black Keys, Bootsy Collins, and many more). Of course, the highlight is the insane 2024 SXSW movie lineup. I can’t wait to laugh, cry, and contemplate my very existence while staring up at a screen at SXSW. In the words of Nicole Kidman, “We come to this place to dream.” And this week, the dreamers are all in Austin, Texas.
Here are the films at SXSW 2024 we’re most excited about – starring an assortment of all our favorite actors (even though Cilian won’t be making an appearance). Still, we’re excited to see new performances from faves like Ayo Edebiri, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Gosling, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Jonathan Groff, Hunter Schafer, Rachel Zegler, Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine, and a whole lot more.
SXSW 2024 Official Opening Night Selection
Road House
This is not Patrick Swayze’s Road House (1989) — but by the time Jake Gyllenhaal is done with you, you’ll love it as much as the original. Gyllenhaal stars as an ex-UFC fighter-turned-bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse, owned by Frankie (Jessica Williams). Facing threats from a criminal gang led by Brandt (Billy Magnussen), Dalton's violent past emerges. When he is confronted by Knox (Conor McGregor), a lethal gun-for-hire, the escalating brawls and bloodshed become more dangerous than his days in the Octagon. Fans of real-life, ex-UFC fighter Conor McGregor are excited to see him in this film, even if he is the villain. Road House is coming to Prime Video on March 21st.
SXSW 2024 Official Closing Night Selection
The Idea of You
This film is like if your mom stole your Wattpad moment. Created by two-time SXSW Audience Award Winner Michael Showalter, it’s his great return to SXSW and it’s sure to be a riot. Allegedly based on Harry Styles (and a little bit of Prince Harry, too), The Idea of You is the salacious story of a 40-year-old single mom who begins an unexpected romance with her daughter’s favorite popstar. She goes from begrudgingly chaperoning her daughter to Coachella to meeting, and falling for, 24-year-old Hayes Campbell, the lead singer of a band based on One Direction. This odd couple romance promises to be more than meets the eye. The couple is played by Red White & Royal Blue’s Nicholas Galitzine alongside Anne Hathaway so I am ready and willing to go on this ride. I’m expecting something that feels like a mix of After, A Star is Born, and How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Watch the trailer HERE. And listen to the first song from the Original Soundtrack by fictional boy band August Moon HERE.
Other films to watch at SXSW 2024
I Wish You All The Best
I am unspeakably excited for Tommy Dorfman’s queer coming-of-age drama. Written and directed by Dorfman and starring Corey Fogelmanis, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Alexandra Daddario, Cole Sprouse, Lena Dunham, Amy Landecker, Lexi Underwood, and more (wow!) it’s an adaptation of Mason Deaver's novel of the same name. A queer tale of chosen family, it follows Ben DeBacker, a non-binary teen who is thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Thomas. Struggling with anxiety, they come out only to Hannah, Thomas, and their art teacher, Ms. Lyons, while trying to keep a low profile at their new school. Ben's attempts to survive junior year unnoticed are thwarted when Nathan, a funny and charismatic student, decides to take Ben under his wing. With the help of Nathan, and his friends Sophie and Mel, Ben discovers themselves, and what started as a disastrous turn of events looks like it might just be a chance to start a happier new life.
A Nice Indian Boy
A Nice Indian Boy
I’ll watch Jonathan Groff in anything — and this original odd-couple comedic drama would have taken me no convincing anyway. Self-effacing doctor Naveen Gavaskar meets Jay Kurundkar, a white man adopted by two Indian parents, when Jay takes his picture at the hospital. Despite initial skepticism on Naveen’s part, the two quickly fall in love. Naveen avoids telling his traditional family—parents Megha & Archit and sister Arundhathi—who accepted his sexuality years earlier and are close to him but increasingly don’t know much about his life. Eventually, inevitably, Jay, with no family of his own, has to meet the Gavaskars, who have never met a boyfriend of Naveen's.
The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy
Don’t fret, Barbie fever is over, but Ryan Gosling will be back on your screens soon enough with this comedic action blockbuster. Ryan Gosling stars as Colt, a stuntman who, after a near-career-ending accident, is drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget movie—being directed by his ex, Jody (Emily Blunt)—goes missing. Now, this working-class hero has to solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job. Certified heartthrob Aaron Taylor Johnson is also in this — giving me something to look forward to as I wait patiently for his role in Kraven: The Hunter later this year. I’m sat.
Omni Loop
Omni Loop
The more Ayo Edebiri in the zeitgeist, the better. Alongside Mary-Louise Parker, Steven Maier, Eddie Cahill, and more, she stars in this existential sci-fi feature. Zoya Lowe, a 55 year old woman from Miami, FL, has been diagnosed with a black hole inside her chest and given a week to live. But what the doctors and her family don’t know is that she has already lived this week before. She’s lived it so many times, in fact, that she doesn’t even know how long it’s been. Until one day she meets Paula, a young woman studying time at a lab in the local university, and together they decide to try and solve time travel so Zoya can actually go back— back into her past, back to a time before she settled, back to when her whole future was still wide open in front of her—back so she can do it all over again, and finally be the person she always wanted to be. It’s this year’s Everything Everywhere All At Once so I have high hopes.
The Greatest Hits
The Greatest Hits
Harriet (Lucy Boynton) finds art imitating life when she discovers certain songs can transport her back in time - literally. While she relives the past through romantic memories of her former boyfriend (David Corenswet), her time-traveling collides with a burgeoning new love interest in the present (Justin H. Min). As she takes her journey through the hypnotic connection between music and memory, she wonders if she can change the past. Think Yesterday, but … no, pretty much just exactly Yesterday.
Y2K
Y2K A24 Movie
The children are our future! This A24 disaster comedy, Y2K, stars Rachel Zegler, Jaeden Martell, Julian Dennison, Lachlan Watson, Daniel Zolghadri, Mason Gooding, The Kid Laroi (yes, from that Justin Bieber song), and more as high schoolers who crash a NYE party in 1999 and end up fighting for their lives. But doesn’t all high school feel like that?
I Love You Forever
I Love You Forever
Directed and written by Cazzie David and Elisa Kalani and starring Sofia Black-D'Elia, Ray Nicholson, Jon Rudnitsky, Cazzie David, and Raymond Cham Jr, this film portrays the sad reality of the dating landscape. It follows Mackenzie, a disillusioned 25-year old law student tired of the apps — because who isn’t. When she has a “real life meet-cute” with a charming journalist who makes her believe true love may actually exist. Ultimately, it starts to go left and Mackenzie finds herself trapped in a tumultuous and depleting cycle of emotional abuse.
I Don't Understand You
Like our beloved White Lotus, this is about an Italian vacation gone wrong. Starring Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells as an American couple, it's about a babymoon turned nightmare. On the verge of adopting a baby, they go on an Italian vacation — an opportunity to reconnect before the new addition arrives. Everything is picture-perfect; the epitome of a European baby moon, when things begin to spiral out of control. On the way to dinner, they get their rental car stuck in a ditch and are stranded in rural nowhere in a downpour. These two Americans, who are used to being catered to, are now in a foreign land without service, an Italian language comprehension of about zero, and clear relationship turmoil that could explode at any minute. Fear obviously takes over.
Doin It
Doin It
Starring internet sensation-turned-host-turned-actor Lilly Singh, Doin It is a comedy of errors about an Indian woman trying to lose her virginity. Fans of Never Have I Ever, which also starts with that premise, should flock to this film. After teenage Maya is caught in a sexually compromising position, her mom moves the family back to India so Maya can learn proper discipline. Years later, she returns to the US to find funding for her teen-focused app, and gets a job as a substitute high school teacher so she can research her target demo. But when the principal assigns her to teach sex ed, Maya —who’s still a virgin— sets out on a quest with her best friend to make up for the high school experience she lost out on. It also stars Ana Gasteyer, Sabrina Jalees, Stephanie Beatriz, Mary Holland, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Sonia Dhillon Tully.
Civil War
Civil War
No, not the Marvel film. Much more chilling and dystopian — especially since it’s set in a plausible, near-future. It stars Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sonoya Mizuno, and Nick Offerman taking us on an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride through a fractured America balanced on the razor’s edge, going through a civil war.
Birdeater
Birdeater
A bride-to-be is invited to join her own fiancé’s bachelor party on a remote property in the Australian outback. But as the festivities spiral into beer-soaked chaos, uncomfortable details about their relationship are exposed, and the celebration soon becomes a feral nightmare. I’m imagining part Saltburn and part Get Out from this feature debut.
Babes
Babes
After becoming pregnant from a one-night stand, Eden leans on her married best friend and mother of two, Dawn, to guide her through gestation and beyond. Starring lana Glazer, Michelle Buteau, John Carroll Lynch, and Hasan Minhaj, this comedy about friendship and motherhood is sure to be both belly-busting and heartwarming
Musica
Musica
Based on writer, director and star Rudy Mancuso, Música is a coming-of-age love story that follows an aspiring creator with synesthesia, who must come to terms with an uncertain future, while navigating the pressures of love, family and his Brazilian culture. Alongside Mancuso are Camila Mendes, Francesca Reale, Maria Mancuso, and J.B. Smoove.
Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told
Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told
If anyone else has heard about Freaknik endlessly without hearing about Freaknik, your time has come. This documentary feature is a celebratory exploration of the boisterous times of Freaknik, the iconic Atlanta street party that drew hundreds of thousands of people in the 80s and 90s, helping put Atlanta on the map culturally. At its height, Freaknik was a traffic-stopping, city-shuttering, juggernaut that has since become a cult classic. This documentary will, too.
The Black Sea
The Black Sea
Immersive and inspired by Derrick B. Harden’s travels to Bulgaria, The Black Sea details the transformative journey of a man who finds unexpected connections in a small coastal Eastern European town even as he finds himself to be the only black person around.
Pet Shop Days
Pet Shop Days
I love a very serious thriller with a whimsical title. Starring Jack Irv, Darío Yazeb Bernal, Willem Dafoe, Peter Sarsgaard, and more, you know this one’s going to be good. In an act of desperation, impulsive black sheep Alejandro flees his home in Mexico. On the run from his unforgiving father, Alejandro finds himself in New York City where he meets Jack, a college age pet store employee with similar parental baggage. Together the two enter a whirlwind romance sending them down the rabbit hole of drugs and depravity in Manhattan’s underworld.
Toll
Toll
This Brazilian feature is definitely going to chill me to my core, I’m calling it now. Suellen, a Brazilian toll booth attendant and mother, falls in with a gang of thieves in an attempt to keep her family afloat. In doing so, she realizes she can use her job to raise some extra money illegally for a so-called noble cause: to send her son to an expensive gay conversion workshop led by a renowned foreign priest.
My Dead Friend Zoe
My Dead Friend Zoe
My Dead Friend Zoe follows the journey of Merit, a U.S. Army Afghanistan veteran who is at odds with her family thanks to the presence of Zoe, her dead best friend from the Army. Despite the persistence of her VA group counselor, the tough love of her mother and the levity of an unexpected love interest, Merit's cozy-dysfunctional friendship with Zoe keeps the duo insulated from the world. That is until Merit's estranged grandfather—holed up at the family's ancestral lake house—begins to lose his way and is in need of the one thing he refuses... help. It stars Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Gloria Reuben.
A House Is Not a Disco
A House Is Not a Disco
Directed by Brian J. Smith, this documentary shows a year-in-the-life in the world’s most iconic “homo-normative” community: Fire Island Pines. Situated fifty miles from New York City, this storied queer beach town finds itself in the midst of a renaissance as a new generation of Millennial homeowners reimagine The Pines for a new, more inclusive era. Filmed like a Wiseman movie on magic mushrooms, a large cast of unforgettable eccentrics, activists, drifters, and first-timers reflect on the legacy of The Pines while preparing their beloved village for the biggest challenge it has faced since the AIDS crisis: rising seas caused by climate change.
Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion
Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion
My eighth-grade self, experiencing all the stages of grief in the Brandy Melville changing room, is ready for this expose. It examines how Brandy Melville developed a cult-like following despite its controversial “one size fits all” tagline. Hiding behind its shiny Instagram façade is a shockingly toxic world, a reflection of the global fast fashion industry. Fast fashion isn’t all glitz and glamor – it’s a business that sacrifices humanity and pollutes the planet for the sake of profit.
Growing up a One Direction fan, I am brimming with unnecessary knowledge of four British (and one Irish) men. I have continued to follow
Harry Styles throughout his illustrious solo career, and I still watch their This Is Us documentary once a year. And in the world of boybands and sick obsession comes fan fiction.
Yes, I'm no stranger to the classic fanfic lore: your mother sold you to One Direction because she couldn't pay her bills, or Harry is the emotionally unavailable soccer star at your school and you, dear Y/N, are the nerd assigned to tutor him. And some fanfics were so addictive that they were turned into films --
see: the After series by Anna Todd.
But now, we've been introduced to a new band in a new film that totally doesn't ring any familiar bells: August Moon.
Who Is August Moon?
August Moon is the fictional band in the new Amazon Prime movie,
The Idea Of You, directed by Michael Showalter and starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine. Based on the novel by Robinne Lee, "The Idea Of You" was fashioned after Harry Styles and his rumored love for older women. The internet has already been abuzz comparing Galitzine's Hayes Campbell to Styles- the patchwork tattoos, the One Direction-inspired photoshoots and mannerisms, and of course the British accent.
24-year-old lead singer Hayes meets 40-year-old Solene (Hathaway) at
Coachella (where else?) and sparks fly. If you want to read more about what happens in the trailer, check out our recap here!
Just like
Daisy Jones & The Six,August Moon will be releasing their music on streaming platforms across the world. Their first song, "Dance Before We Walk", was featured in the trailer today.
The song itself isn't as bad as I anticipated, it's reminiscent of British synth indie pop made popular by bands like The 1975. Singing alongside
Galitzine, there's Jaiden Anthony, Raymond Cham, Vik White, and Dakota Andan. And it looks like that won't be the last of August Moon!
The band has also just activated an Instagram account (and it already has over 5k followers), so it truly looks like they're taking the Daisy Jones approach. The hype surrounding any band mirroring One Direction is huge, and it only amplifies when the lead singer is played by a current Hollywood heartthrob who's seemingly in
everything.
You can listen to "Dance Before We Walk" here:
MORE ABOUT THE IDEA OF YOU
Directed by Michael Showalter
Screenplay by Michael Showalter and Jennifer Westfeldt, Based Upon the Book by Robinne Lee
Produced by Cathy Schulman p.g.a., Gabrielle Union p.g.a., Anne Hathaway p.g.a., Robinne Lee, Eric Hayes, Michael Showalter, Jordana Mollick
Executive Produced by Douglas S. Jones, Jason Babiszewski, Jennifer Westfeldt, Kian Gass
Starring Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine, Ella Rubin, Annie Mumolo, Reid Scott, Perry Mattfeld, Jordan Aaron Hall, Mathilda Gianopoulos, Raymond Cham Jr., Jaiden Anthony, Viktor White, Dakota Adan
Genre Romantic Drama
Based on the acclaimed, contemporary love story of the same name, The Idea of You centers on Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old single mom who begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet. When Solène must step in to chaperone her teenage daughter’s trip to the Coachella Music Festival after her ex bails at the last minute, she has a chance encounter with Hayes and there is an instant, undeniable spark. As they begin a whirlwind romance, it isn’t long before Hayes’ superstar status poses unavoidable challenges to their relationship, and Solène soon discovers that life in the glare of his spotlight might be more than she bargained for.