Whether you are planning a weekend night out or you're working a babysitting gig, there's enough to choose from at the box office.
In Popdust's column, Box Office Breakdown, we aim to inform you of the top flicks to check out every weekend depending on what you're in the mood to enjoy. Looking to laugh? What about having your pants scared off? Maybe you just need a little love? Whatever the case may be, we have you covered. Take a peek at our top picks for this week…
A primatologist and a silverback gorilla have a lot more in common than is normal, or even uncanny. The gorilla and the scientist have been together the monkey's entire life, but when an experiment with CRISPR (a gene-altering science) does not go as planned, the gorilla strays away from his gentle nature. And he is not the only primate of his kind who is going to be trying to destroy anything that comes in his path. The scientist must work with a team of genetic engineers to find the anecdote to the problem, entering in a battlefield and hoping to bring back his friend.
Last night was the series premiere of Young Rock, NBC's newest sitcom.
The comedic series follows the upbringing of its namesake, WWE legend and action movie juggernaut, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, through ages 10, 15, and 18.
It opens in the year 2032, when Johnson decides to run for President of the United States. In a sitdown interview with Randall Park, Johnson divulges intimate details about his life, including being the son of a wrestling pioneer, the late Rocky "Soul Man" Johnson.
Young Dwayne's (affectionately called Dewey) formative years see him surrounded by wrestling legends like The Iron Sheik and Andre The Giant, stealing clothes to impress his high school crush, and becoming an alpha male his first day on the football team at the University of Miami.
Johnson's comedic take on his real-life makes him even more endearing than he already is.
Celebrities tend to embellish the details of their lives for the sake of entertainment, but a 10-year-old Rock being a precocious smart alec has been confirmed by wrestling legends who knew him at that age.
One of the highlights of Young Rock is the spot-on casting. The actors playing Johnson at different periods resemble him tremendously if you've seen pictures of him during those times. But Johnson didn't just focus on aesthetically accurate castings for himself. Everyone, from his parents to the wrestlers mentioned, are mirror images of their real-life counterparts.
The show does a great job of satiating both fans of The Rock and fans of Dwayne Johnson. Those who were introduced to him through Vince McMahon and the WWE get to indulge in their wrestling fandom, with fictional cameos from wrestling greats and the usage of pro wrestling slang. They also get to hear untold stories that even the most die-hard fan probably wouldn't know about the People's Champ.
The people who know Johnson as a box-office behemoth and not the trash-talking former WWE champion get insight into what made him the hardworking business and family man he is today. His unconventional upbringing in the bizarre world of professional wrestling prepared him for the chaotic world of Hollywood long before it would become his main profession.
Unfortunately, the show isn't as perfect as its subject. There are moments where the lighthearted humor edges dangerously close to cheesy. The show could also do without Johnson's fictitious presidential campaign set 11 years into the future. It's meant to be a tongue-in-cheek dig at his supposed political aspirations, but it's an unnecessary distraction that doesn't add anything.
Still, Young Rock has the potential to become another celebrity coming-of-age hit like Everybody Hates Chris and Fresh Off the Boat. Its retelling of one individual's life at different ages in 30-minute episodes is ambitious. However, if each episode follows a formula similar to its premiere, then following along won't be a challenge for viewers.
Young Rock airs Tuesdays at 8 PM EST/5 PM PST on NBC.
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson attending the 77th Golden Globe Awards Arrivals at The Beverly Hilton, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Photo by Hahn Lionel/ABACA/Shutterstock
When the coronavirus first began to sweep the world in early 2020, few could imagine that in November we'd still be fully immersed in it, living in a world ravaged by fire, disease, and chronic governmental ineptitude.
Today the United States has reported more than 250,000 COVID-19 deaths, and that number shows no sign of decreasing. The virus has spared no one and nothing, and Hollywood and the entertainment industries were hard-hit, with even some of the world's largest and wealthiest stars relegated to their beds, forced to turn to Instagram for sympathy and updates.
Here are some of the most famous people to confess that they received a positive COVID-19 test. It's likely that many other famous people had the virus and either were never diagnosed or chose not to share their stories. The list also doesn't begin to cover the tragedy of all those who died from the virus, or the agony felt by those whose lives were torn apart by the pandemic and other crises in 2020.
But even these few stories are testimonials to a virus that proved itself to be far more powerful than mankind's most renowned figures. And, if the fact that Tom Hanks is still isolating is any proof, it's not over yet.
Tom Hanks and his wife Rita were diagnosed with COVID-19 during the early days of the virus. Their revelation, posted on March 11th, shocked the world and made many people realize just how serious the pandemic—then still in its first stages—actually was.
Now, Hanks is isolating in Australia six months after his diagnosis after returning to continue filming an Elvis biopic, directed by Baz Luhrmann. His arrival has prompted a discussion about re-infection rates and whether people need to re-quarantine after they have the virus.
Elba and his wife, Sabrina, both tested positive for "very mild," asymptomatic strains of coronavirus in March and have since fortunately recovered. The pair self-isolated in New Mexico, where Idris had been filming a movie, before returning to London in May.
The Bachelor star and former NFL player was diagnosed with coronavirus in March. "The last few days were rougher than I expected," he wrote of his experiences with the virus. "The most prominent symptoms are my cough, night sweats and shortness of breathe. Breathing is challenging, the best way to describe it is feeling like I only have access to 20% of my lungs."
"I'm hopeful that they are starting to work! This morning was the first time that I've felt any real type of improvement since the beginning of this," he wrote in a post. "I'm hopeful that I've turned the corner and will be back to 100% soon. We are very lucky that all of this was manageable at home after getting the proper medicine."
Underwood isolated on the third floor of his girlfriend Cassie Randolph's house in Huntington Beach. "I'm on the third story of the Randolph's home, isolated from the rest of the family (The Health Department called and spoke to both Cassie's mom and me to make sure we understood timing and what to do)," he said. "When they make food they make an extra plate and drop it off and have been checking on me regularly to make sure I am comfortable and breathing! They have been amazing and have been taking great care of me."
(Underwood has healed from COVID-19, presumably, but he and Randolph soon split and she just filed a restraining order against him, so clearly things went wrong somewhere).
Broadway's Aaron Tveit was starring in a production of Moulin Rouge when he began suffering from flu-like symptoms, but he and the show's cast still took precautions, canceling meet-and-greets and not allowing fans backstage. This was back in early March when confusing reports of COVID-19 were just beginning to flood in. Then Broadway went dark on March 12th, and Tveit received a COVID-19 test that confirmed he had the virus.
"I felt lethargic," Tveit said of his symptoms in April. "I never had the shortness of breath or fever that people were talking about. But then, very interestingly, I completely lost my sense of smell and taste."
"I wanted to put forward that this is such a serious thing. You could not have a fever, you could not have a shortness of breath, you could not have this dry cough, and you could still be positive. I wanted to share my experience and say this is very serious. You have to pay attention to this right now."
Tveit also expressed cautious optimism about Broadway's return, which feels a bit gut-wrenching given that he was interviewed in April and it is now September and Broadway remains closed. "Everything is a question: When? What? How? For the Broadway community specifically, I think everybody just feels unsure. There are shows that have just opened and yet to open that are hanging in the balance. We don't know when we will be going to work. Will people be interested in coming?" he said. Broadway shows are set to reopen in 2021.
Rapper Slim Thug was diagnosed with the coronavirus in March. "I wasn't outside clubbing or doing something extra. Everything I was doing was essential. I did get a haircut. I must have caught the spray," he said. "Outside of that, I went to get something to eat. I stayed in my truck, I never got out of my truck."
He had some choice words for those ignoring pandemic advice: "They sound like people who want the coronavirus," he said. "If you want it, that's how you should move. If you don't want it, you should stay home and stay out the way.
6. Jackson Browne
71-year-old Jackson Browne announced that he had coronavirus on March 24th in an interview with Rolling Stone. Fortunately, despite being in an at-risk age group, Browne's case wasn't too severe. "My symptoms are really pretty mild, so I don't require any kind of medication and certainly not hospitalization or anything like that," he said.
Browne suspected he contracted the virus at March's Love Rocks NYC concert, which featured Cyndi Lauper, Dave Matthews, Warren Haynes, Susan Tedeschi, and Derek Trucks performing at the Beacon Theatre. While crowds weren't invited to the show, Browne still suspects he may have contracted the virus from crew members or other performers.
Alyssa Milano has been suffering from an extremely prolonged version of coronavirus, which has lasted for months months. On April 2 she shared a photo of herself in an oxygen mask with the caption, "This was me on April 2 after being sick for two weeks. I had never been this kind of sick."
"It felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest," she added. "I couldn't breathe. I couldn't keep food in me. I lost 9 pounds (4kg) in two weeks. I was confused. Low-grade fever. And the headaches were horrible." Despite her symptoms, Milano apparently tested negative twice for the virus, and she cited this as an example of the US's very flawed testing systems.
In September, she gave fans a long update about her condition, saying she was "starting to physically feel better," though she's still having heart palpitations and some other symptoms.
8. Pink
Singer Pink had a terrifying experience in the early days of COVID-19, which also affected her 3-year-old son, Jameson. "We have been really, really sick. My 3-year-old, Jameson, has had the worst of it. I've had many nights where I've cried and I've never prayed more in my life," she said on Instagram.
"It was terrifying at one point," Pink later told Ellen over video chat. "I've had really, really bad asthma to the point where sometimes I end up in the hospital. I woke up in the middle of the night and I couldn't breathe. I needed my nebulizer for the first time in 30 years. I couldn't function without it. That's when I started to get really scared."
Pink has also donated $1 million to healthcare workers on the frontlines during the pandemic.
The Rock, his wife Lauren, and his two daughters Jasmine and Tiana all contracted the coronavirus in early September. The Rock, who is the world's highest paid actor, confirmed this in a September 3rd Instagram video. The diagnosis was a "a kick in the gut," the actor said, as his family was "disciplined" in following safety protocols.
Fortunately, the actor's daughters only suffered from sore throats for a few days before bouncing back to normal, though Johnson and his wife apparently had a rougher go. "I can tell you that this has been one of the most challenging and difficult things we have ever had to endure as a family," Johnson said. Yes, COVID-19 can level even The Rock.
The singer-songwriter and Waitress creator shared her experience with COVID-19 in an instagram story posted in early April. "I had it, just so you know. I'm fully recovered, just so you know," she wrote. "And I am just thinking about all the people who are walking through this really tricky time and sending a lot of love and just being really grateful for every easy breath and every day that I get to be walking around. I'm really quiet right now and will probably continue to be quiet, just sort of taking all of this in and having a lot of feelings, as I do."
Later, Bareilles shared more details about her experiences. "You really have to listen to your body, rest and pay close attention if you're having any respiratory issues," she told People Magazine. "But it was scary because you're waiting for it to get worse the whole time. So I can understand why it's a really panic-ridden time for so many people."
11. Sturgill Simpson
The musician started experiencing coronavirus symptoms on March 13 but was unable to get tested until a month later. "They pulled the plug on our tour March 12 and I returned home. This photo was taken at 9am on March 13th when my wife took me to our local hospital ER due to chest pains, fever, and pre-stroke blood pressure levels," he said in a caption on a photo he took in a hospital bed.
]"I spent an hour listening to a (highly condescending) Doctor refuse to test me because I 'did not fit testing criteria' and tell me why it was impossible that I had contracted the virus due to its extreme rarity and that it was not in western Europe yet during that same period (which we now know is incorrect) even though I was told by two nurses that I was the first person their hospital had walk in requesting to be tested...," Simpson added.
"Yesterday on Friday April 10th, after almost one month without any symptoms, I received a call from the Nashville CDC stating that my test resulted in a positive detection for Covid-19," he continued. "My wife (who has been by my side since Europe) tested negative."
Simpson blamed the delay in results on the U.S. government's ineptitude and Trump's refusal to believe in science. "At least our Government appointed task force headed by a man who does not believe in science is against mass testing and we now have a second task force in the works to 'open America back up for business'!" he finished.
The Breaking Bad star was apparently diagnosed with COVID-19 the very first weeks when the virus hit the USA. "We were very fortunate," he said of his and his wife's "mild symptoms." He and his wife, Robin Deaden, only experienced a "couple days of feeling achy" and "a week of severe lethargy."
But he chose to remain quiet because "I didn't think that the world needed another celebrity saying, 'Hey, I had it!' so I just didn't say anything and went about my way," he said.
The world's fastest man, Usain Bolt, announced that he is self-quarantining for COVID-19 on August 24th. Bolt celebrated his 34th birthday in Jamaica with a mask-free party, and though he did not confirm that he had the virus, an official Jamaica's health ministry confirmed that he tested positive.
"Just to be safe I quarantined myself and just taking it easy," the legendary Olympian wrote in a social media post. Confirmed cases in Jamaica have reached 3511, with 40 deaths, and 73 new cases were confirmed on Thursday September 10.
Robert Pattinson was diagnosed with COVID-19 in late August on the set of The Batman. Pattinson, who plays the film's title character, reportedly caught the virus during filming in the UK and is now self-isolating while some production continues on the film.
On Monday it was revealed that Governor Ron DeSantis had managed to include World Wrestling Entertainment in the category of businesses deemed "essential" in Florida.
Essential services are exempted from the statewide "safer-at-home" order, which requires residents to remain indoors as much as possible. What this means for WWE is that wrestlers will soon resume taping matches in an empty arena for a television audience. What it means for the state of Florida is that total chaos has been averted.
Of course every state that has restricted movement has had to develop their own metrics for determining which businesses qualify as "essential." In New York liquor stores have been allowed to continue their operations—and have been doing swift business—while in Pennsylvania they are closed, despite expert warnings. But amid broader concerns about Governor DeSantis' lax and delayed response to the ongoing public health crisis, it would be tempting to see his justification that businesses like WWE "are critical to Florida's economy," as a gross miscalculation.
Through this lens, an ignorant commentator might accuse Governor DeSantis of underestimating the direness of our circumstances, or worse, of playing favorites with businesses owned by prominent figures in Republican politics—Donald Trump is, after all, a WWE Hall of Famer. But the reality is that the governor really had no choice. WWE must continue its operations for the good of Florida and of the nation.
If there is one thing professional wrestlers are known for—beyond their physical stature and athletic prowess—it's the drama that seems to dominate their lives. When they aren't having affairs with each others' spouses, they're getting into custody battles, betraying their partners, attempting impromptu castrations, and participating in murder plots. Vince McMahon has managed to contain those soap opera-levels of insanity to the wrestling ring, where combatants can work out their aggression with folding chairs and sledgehammers under the watchful gaze of TV cameras and the significantly less watchful gaze of a referee.
Even within that structured environment, rules are often broken and things frequently get out of hand—with lead pipes and thumb tacks, people's faces being slammed into butts while women and children are fought over as property. Without that carefully managed release valve, how would these superpowered behemoths resolve their disputes? What would stop that drama from spilling out into the streets where oiled men in underwear would slam each other through car windshields and knock fire hydrants loose from their mounts in spectacles of wanton destruction? Do we want police, firefighters and EMTs to be assisting those who truly need their help, or responding to situations like "Florida man lifts other Florida man onto his shoulders, spins him around, then throws him off a bridge?"
While WWE's official stance is that they "provide people with a diversion from these hard times," the truth is that they provide a public service by allowing these mythic beasts to work out their aggression and settle their insane quarrels in a controlled environment. While the company also noted that they are "taking additional precautions to ensure the health and wellness of our performers and staff," the most important precaution is to keep their performers wrestling. Because the heels and baby faces of the WWE are America's answer to the greek gods—with all the drama and in-fighting—and Vince McMahon keeps the crashing thunder contained to Mount Olympus.
Thank you, Governor DeSantis, for protecting the public from that chaos.
The new Fast & Furious movie is finally coming out and it's probably gonna be the best movie about juiced up men racing juiced up cars yet. If there's one thing I love, it's an exciting illegal street racing movie that, while action-packed, remains fully within the bounds of reality.
Let's check out the trailer.
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw - Official Trailer [HD]www.youtube.com
Wait. What? Why is Idris Elba a supervillain?
This makes zero sense. Fast & Furious is supposed to be about racing cars and sometimes heists. The villains are tough street punks and drug lords. Not Winter Soldier. If I wanted to see a Winter Soldier movie, I'd watch Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
I'm here to watch fast cars flip through the air and skid up walls, and instead Idris Elba is covering himself in laser beams, bragging, "I'm the peak of human evolution. Look at me punch through a metal door." Where's the realism in that? I'm 80% sure genetic testing hasn't come that far yet, and I'm 100% sure that Idris Elba isn't actually bulletproof.
The Fast & Furious franchise has always been about what's really possible. You know, things like driving your car upside down and Tokyo drifting. Not stupid action movie schlock like jumping out a skyscraper window to punch a guy at mach speed. That is so obviously fake, and there's not way any sane person could take such a ridiculous scene seriously.
That's what real street racing is all about―the pure rush of driving your car through multiple buildings, getting hit with a rocket, and rolling out the door just in time to avoid plummeting to your fiery death. A street racing documentary couldn't have been more precise. Now, with this Idris Elba bullshit, they're trying to take that realism away.
Oh, and don't even get me started about the part where The Rock throws a chair into the glass wall. CIA facilities almost always use reinforced glass for top-secret safety reasons. Glass like that is meant to stand up to bullets. The chance that it would shatter on impact with a hurled chair is frankly laughable. Do better.
Of course, if you just want to watch whatever this is instead of a highly realistic racing film, you can see Fast & Furious: Hobbs and Shaw in theaters on July, 26th.
Dan Kahan is a writer & screenwriter from Brooklyn, usually rocking a man bun. Find more at dankahanwriter.com
John Wick is the best action series in history. That's not an opinion. It's hard fact.
The first John Wick is the most perfect action movie to ever exist, a masterful blend of airtight storytelling, mind-blowing direction by Chad Stahelski, and elite stunt acting by Keanu Reeves in the lead role. John Wick: Chapter 2 expanded the universe of the first film while maintaining all the things that made it so great, easily taking the title of Second Best Action Movie Ever because the first one can never be topped. Ask any expert, this is 100% true.
But now that the trailer just dropped for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, the original might have a run for its money. Just watch.
You can pick your jaw up off the floor now. Seriously. How great was that?
From the first purple-lit cityscape shot of New York City, you know you're in the hands of a director who understands how to create mood. This isn't some bland, Michael Bay Transformers bullshit. This is John Wick's world, a criminal underbelly, both gorgeous and severe. As we know from the end of the previous film, John Wick is on the wrong side of that world now. He broke the criminal syndicate's ancient code by killing someone on sacred ground, and now everyone is after his head.
And then the song kicks in — a dissonant cover of "The Impossible Dream" from the 1965 Broadway musical "Man of La Mancha." An ode to persisting on one's quest despite impossible odds, a more perfect song for this trailer does not exist. Like Don Quixote before him, John Wick will attempt to conquer the unconquerable even if the entire world stands in his way. Why? Because he's the Baba Yaga — the boogeyman — the man who can't die.
We only get brief glimpses of action, but holy crap they are awesome. In a single take, John Wick throws an assault rifle at a dude's head. Do you know what that means? Keanu Reeves actually did it. He literally stood across the room from another man, hurled a giant fucking gun at his head, and clocked him in the face.
And there's gonna be a sword fight on motorcycles.
And John Wick is gonna ride a horse through New York.
Oh, and Halle Berry is an assassin joining forces with John Wick, and she also has a dog, and both their dogs are helping them fight bad guys, and holy shit, how amazing is this trailer?
Find a cryogenic chamber and freeze yourself until May 17th, because nothing else matters until John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum hits theaters.
Dan Kahan is a writer & screenwriter from Brooklyn, usually rocking a man bun. Find more at dankahanwriter.com
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