Steve Pond's Blog, page 129

Rachel Zoe Joins ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ in Season 15: ‘Now Is The Time’

Rachel Zoe has set her return to Bravo.

The fashion designer posted to Instagram that she was making her Bravo comeback as part of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hill” Season 15 cast. Zoe originally starred on “The Rachel Zoe Project” beginning in 2008 and running for five years.

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“It’s official, I am coming back to Bravo!” Zoe said on Instagram. “I am joining the cast of ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.’”

She continued: “It’s been a while and you’ve been asking me to come back to television and I said when the stars align or it makes sense or I have enough to say to share with all of you and now is the time. Really excited to be with all of you again and I hope you are too, so let’s have some fun!”

Zoe’s original show followed the fashion designer and celebrity stylist’s day-to-day workings both professionally and personally. Her addition to the “Real Housewives” franchise marks a return to Bravo 12 years in the making.

It could not come at a more tumultuous time. Season 14’s finale was preceded by the announcement that Garcelle Beauvais would not return for Season 15. She still made an appearance on the Reunion episode but shut down Andy Cohen’s questions multiple times.

“I’m really pissed right now,” Beauvais said, mentioning that she doesn’t feel like she receives “grace” from the other housewives after she was slammed for questioning the legitimacy of Dorit Kemsley’s home invasion. “I’m pissed about all of it. All of it, since I’ve sat here on this couch. So, I don’t want to answer any more questions honestly.”

She continued: “I stand by the things that I say, and even though I’m taking accountability for them, it’s not accepted. It’s not … not one person who looked at me and smiled … When we first got here, yes, but nothing else.”

After that, Beauvais refused to be a part of the end-of-episode- group pick and left the set alone.

“I don’t want to be in the cast photo,” Beauvais said, despite saying earlier that she hoped for one. “I’m done.” She was followed into her dressing room where she added that the rest of the group were “f–king assholes.”

The returning cast for Season 15 include Kyle Richards, Dorit Kemsley, Erika Jayne, Sutton Stracke and Bozoma Saint John.

The post Rachel Zoe Joins ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ in Season 15: ‘Now Is The Time’ appeared first on TheWrap.

‘Titan’ Review: Netflix’s OceanGate Documentary Gets Bogged Down in a Single Villain

Netflix’s “Titan: TheOceanGate Disaster” fails to discover the depths of the issues that led to the fateful implosion of the submersible that claimed five lives in Summer 2023, placing sole focus on Stockton Rush’s misdeeds.

On June 18, 2023, OceanGate’s Titan submersible imploded and killed all five members aboard including the company’s CEO and co-founder Stockton Rush. A horrifying story that gripped the world’s attention, disturbing details emerged in the immediate aftermath such as the submersible being piloted through a PlayStation controller. But the story of Titan also fit into a familiar narrative of our age where a narcissistic individual cut corners to seek glory, and it ended up costing people’s lives.

For those unfamiliar with why Titan failed, Mark Monroe’s Netflix documentary “Titan: The OceanGate Disaster” provides a solid overview of what led to the submersible’s implosion. However, Monroe also appears reluctant to explore why OceanGate was able to reach its fatal final voyage and the factors that enabled Rush beyond his wealth and toxic personality. “Titan” wants to start and end with Rush’s actions when it feels like that conclusion is already littered on the story’s surface.

Monroe’s documentary largely covers the eight years leading up to Titan’s implosion, the figures who were initially brought on to make Rush’s vision a reality, and who subsequently left when it became clear how safety was secondary to cost and convenience. The main issue revolves arounds the use of carbon fiber for the ship’s hull instead of titanium or other metal typically used in submersibles. Carbon fiber is cheaper, both to manufacture and to transport, but it was largely untested as a material for deep sea exploration. Rather than switch to a sturdier material, OceanGate simply shrugged, added acoustic sensors that would note when a carbon fiber had snapped, and called it a safety measure. In a similar fashion, OceanGate got around regulations regarding crew and personnel qualifications by calling almost everyone involved a “mission specialist.” It was a sign of a company that functioned as an expression of Rush’s ego, but also a larger cultural mentality that rules get in the way of innovation and progress.

When “Titan” looks at the various players involved and includes the wealth of OceanGate’s footage from their tests and workshops, you have a feature that feels more immediate than the excellently written profiles covering the disaster. As valuable as articles from The New Yorker and WIRED are, there’s something particularly chilling about watching Rush in a test dive as we hear a “pop” of the carbon fiber strands breaking. Without resorting to recreations, Monroe paints an unnerving picture of what the final moments of the doomed Titan voyage may have been like without playing it as exploitative. More upsetting is how Rush could personally experience such a distinct warning and instead retaliate against the engineer who included the instruments that noted those warnings. In an endeavor that required maximum diligence, Rush repeatedly showed his fury not at failures, but at being made aware of failures.

Of course, it’s incredibly easy to say all of this now that Rush is dead, killed by his own carelessness, callousness and ignorance. Alive, he had the resources to silence his critics, and here we start to arrive at a far more damning indictment that goes far beyond one person. OceanGate’s head of marine operations, David Lochridge, became a whistleblower, but because Rush had the resources to bury Lochridge in legal fees, the marine operations head eventually had no choice but to withdraw his complaint, which in turn ended the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) investigation into OceanGate. A whistleblower system where the individual has no protections and can be financially beaten into submission to where the whole investigation stops is an indictment that goes far beyond OceanGate, but “Titan” only makes it a shocking beat that’s positioned as part of Rush’s vindictive and monomaniacal nature.

Once you start pulling at the threads surrounding the rise of OceanGate, a more fascinating tension emerges than the one the documentary presents. Instead of wholly blaming Rush, we can see how his marketing savvy and an incurious press gave him the latitude to sell a dangerous product. Perhaps Monroe felt that looking at the larger systems would appear like letting Rush off the hook, which is a fair decision. But with Rush as the center of the documentary’s ire, we can see how larger systems enabled his abuses. Regulations became minor obstacles that could be circumvented or outright ignored. The media became a marketing partner, never asking the tough questions but instead being dazzled by Rush’s sales pitch and the allure of visiting the wreck of the Titanic. When one journalist says in the aftermath, “we were misled,” I was taken aback. It didn’t occur to this reporter that the CEO may be trying to sell his product, and that further investigation was needed to verify his claims?

But these questions of marketing and sales luring people into a death trap linger at the margins of “Titan” while providing the cold comfort that Rush can no longer harm anyone else. While this is true, “Titan” has no answers regarding what will happen to the next person who replaces Rush. Nothing in the documentary indicates that a similarly well-funded and single-minded individual would have difficulty repeating his transgressions. In this way, “Titan” becomes another reassurance as empty as the one’s made by the film’s single villain. There will always be another Rush, and as far as I can understand from this documentary, there’s nothing to prevent him from sinking to a similar depth.
“Titan: The OceanGate Disaster” arrives on Netflix on June 11.

The post ‘Titan’ Review: Netflix’s OceanGate Documentary Gets Bogged Down in a Single Villain appeared first on TheWrap.

‘Good American Family’ Creator Says Hulu Show’s Horror Elements Challenge Audiences’ Preconceptions

It’s easy for a TV show to amp up the sensationalism when adapting a true-crime story. For the producers of Hulu’s “Good American Family,” though, the hope was that the horror at the center of Natalia Grace’s tragic adoption case would challenge viewers to go beyond their knee-jerk reactions. “So often these days we look at something and we make snap judgments about it. We don’t ask a lot of questions,” series creator Katie Robbins said. “We wanted to disrupt that idea. (The show) became about figuring out how to play with timelines and perspective so that people are constantly questioning their first impressions.

“When those turns happen, you are forced to say, ‘Why did I think this? Maybe I’m wrong about this,’” she added. “The more we can ask ourselves about our own perceptions, the more empathetic we can be.”

Based on the real-life story that already inspired a multi-season Investigation Discovery docuseries, “Good American Family” follows Kristine and Michael Barnett after they adopt Natalia Grace, a 7-year-old girl from Ukraine with a rare form of dwarfism. But as conflicts arise and the family dynamic goes south, the parents wonder if Natalia is much older than she appears. In her first starring TV role outside of “Grey’s Anatomy,” Ellen Pompeo leads the cast as matriarch Kristine Barnett, while Mark Duplass plays her husband, Michael, and breakout star Imogen Faith Reid is Natalia Grace.

Ellen Pompeo in “Good American Family.” (Disney/Anne Marie Fox)

The eight-episode drama shows how the Barnetts’ adoption devolves into their petitioning the court to change Natalia’s legal age to 22 when she was only 8 and then leaving her alone in an apartment to fend for herself. (The court granted their petition and legally but incorrectly changed her age, though more evidence later came to light and her real age has since been restored.) It opens with Kristine’s arrest in the middle of a speaking engagement where she boasts about being a good mother to her biological sons. Then the show flashes back to the adoption of Natalia Grace and how Kristine’s world fell apart when she started suspecting her daughter was trying to bring her down.

Though Pompeo’s casting got the most attention as “Good American Family” went into production, it’s newcomer Reid who steals the show. Starting with Episode 5, the point of view shifts from the Barnetts’ version of events to Natalia’s, showing the harrowing journey of a young girl with disabilities left behind by the adults who promised to protect her.

The decision to kick off the show with Kristine and Michael was a gamble because the exec producers didn’t want viewers to be turned off by what initially seems to be a sympathetic depiction of the parents. “There was a pretty big risk in telling the story in this way, especially now that there’s so much information out there that makes most people demonize the Barnetts,” showrunner Sarah Sutherland said. “The fact that most people really get it and feel moved by the perspective shift in Episode 5 is a lovely relief.”

For her part, Reid wanted to honor Natalia by bringing to light the injustice she and her fictionalized counterpart suffered. “Kristine brainwashed her to think that this is all on her, but in reality, she doesn’t know what she’s doing,” Reid said. “Natalia was just misunderstood. She was just a child who had a lot of trauma, and if only she was taken in by a family who could have taken their time to learn about reactive attachment disorder and worked with her instead of working against her, it would have done wonders.”

In lieu of speaking with the real-life subjects — the real Natalia Grace, now 21, declined to participate in the show — the creative team relied on hundreds of pages of research and social-media messages to reconstruct the sequence of events. The goal, as frequent collaborators Robbins and Sutherland tell it, was to bring empathy to a story that was already over- run by tabloid fodder. “There are so many elements of the case that haven’t gotten enough attention — issues around bias and disability and whose story gets to be believed and whose doesn’t,” Robbins said. “These themes feel particularly potent in this moment where scientific facts aren’t given the weight that they once were. We really wanted people to have the chance to grapple with why they believe what they believe.”

“Good American Family” is now streaming on Hulu.

This story first ran in the Limited Series & TV Movies issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.

Read more from the Limited Series & TV Movies issue here.

Photographed by Zoe McConnell for TheWrap

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Martin Scorsese Gets Bewildering ‘Good Night’ Call From Robert De Niro in Viral TikTok Trend | Video

Martin Scorsese is no stranger to TikTok trends but this time the joke was on him.

As part of a new viral trend where men call their friends out of the blue only to wish them good night and hang up, Robert De Niro called up Scorsese and both ends of the exchange were caught on camera. The trend between the two legends was posted to the Tribeca Film Festival’s account to promote their appearance.

“I’m calling to say good night,” the actor said. “And sleep tight.”

“Okay, thank you,” the director responded confused.

De Niro then tells Scorsese to hop on a quick Facetime. The director agrees and is shown that his long-time collaborator is watching “The Wiggles” on TV.

“Oh, great, that’s really good,” Scorsese said at the display.

“I’ll see you,” De Niro ended. “See you tomorrow. Sleep well, dear.”

“Okay, thank you, my love,” Scorsese responded with a laugh. “Bye!”

After the call, the director walked back through the baffling exchange with his daughter Francesca – who has been behind a number of the viral moments Scorsese has knowingly and unknowingly been a part of.

“He calls four times, then you finally pick up, you realize it’s him and he goes, ‘Hey, how you doin’? Fine, I’ll see you tomorrow, right, okay,'” he said. “The whole thing, big mystery. He just took it into his head that he had to say ‘Good night’ today.”

@tribeca

two legends, one trend #fyp #goodnightbro #martinscorsese #robertdeniro @Francesca

♬ original sound – tribeca

Scorsese has been a part of a number of viral TikToks before. His daughter has roped her dad into everything, from discussing his favorite films to getting him to narrate what she’s doing in a GRWM. She no doubt has her mind set on the next way to feature her dad in his day-to-day life.

You can watch the adorable moment in the video above.

The post Martin Scorsese Gets Bewildering ‘Good Night’ Call From Robert De Niro in Viral TikTok Trend | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

‘Gachiakuta’ Trailer Shows Rudo on the Hunt for Revenge

In the official trailer for Crunchyroll’s new dark and grisly series “Gachiakuta,” the main character Rudo is on his hunt for revenge after he was framed for murder and cast out by his community into a filthy trash pit where terrifying beasts roam.

“I’ll hit those Sphereite a–holes with everything I’ve got!” Rudo exclaims of his enemies in the trailer, which dropped Thursday night. The video also shows Rudo calling out the classicism in his society, which gives those with affluence more resources and privilege.

“‘Sphere’ this and ‘Ground’ that … ‘Trash’ this and ‘tribesfolk’ that. Quit sorting people with the labels you choose!” he shouts.

Before “Gachiakuta” hits Crunchyroll on July 6, it will premiere early in 15 countries and regions through special advance screenings, which will be held at major anime events. The screening for the U.S. takes place at the Anime Expo on July 4 at 10 a.m. PST.

“There’s a raw, emotional current in ‘Gachiakuta’ that will resonate with fans the moment they see it,” Crunchyroll’s chief operating officer, Gita Rebbapragada, said in a statement. “These promotional efforts are designed to match the excitement and intensity of this remarkable story and hook them into an unforgettable narrative journey.”

Animator Fumihiko Suganuma makes his directorial debut with “Gachiakuta,” and series composition is by Hiroshi Seko (“Attack on Titan”). Music is by Taku Iwasaki (“Bungo Stray Dogs”). Joining the cast is Toshiyuki Morikawa, who plays Regto, and Yuuki Shin, who plays Jabber.

The opening theme “Hugs” is by Paledusk, and its ending theme “Tomoshibi” is by Dustcell.

“Gachiakuta” is set in a dystopian world and is depicted through graffiti-inspired animation.

Here is Crunchyroll’s official description of the series: “Rudo lives in the slums of a floating town, where the poor scrape by under the shadow of the rich who live a sumptuous life, simply casting their garbage off the side, into the abyss. Then one day, he’s falsely accused of murder, and his wrongful conviction leads to an unimaginable punishment—exile off the edge, with the rest of the trash. Down on the surface, the cast-off waste of humanity has bred vicious monsters, and if Rudo wants to have any hope of discovering the truth and seeking vengeance against those who cast him into Hell, he will have to master a new power and join a group known as the Cleaners who battle the hulking trash beasts of the Pit!”

You can watch the trailer in the video above.

The post ‘Gachiakuta’ Trailer Shows Rudo on the Hunt for Revenge appeared first on TheWrap.

Ousted ‘Love Island USA’ Contestant Apologizes for ‘Ignorantly’ Using Racial Slur: ‘It Is Not Mine to Use’

“Love Island USA” contestant Yulissa Escobar apologized on Friday for past use of a racial slur that got her kicked off the Peacock reality dating show.

“I used [the N-word] ignorantly, not fully understanding the weight, history or pain behind it,” the Miami native wrote on her Instagram.

“I wasn’t trying to be offensive or harmful, but I recognize now that intention doesn’t excuse impact. And the impact of that word is real. It’s tied to generations of trauma, and it is not mine to use,” she said.

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A post shared by Yulissa Escobar (@yulissaaescobar)

After the Season 7 cast was announced on May 29, recordings from Escobar’s appearances on two separate podcasts resurfaced. In the clips, she used the n-word more than once while discussing previous relationships.

Her exit in Episode 2 was announced in a scene in which the show’s narrator informed viewers, simply, “Yulissa has left the villa.”

Escobar went on to say in her post, “I was speaking casually in conversation, not thinking deeply or critically about what I was saying, but that doesn’t take away from how wrong it was.”

Her post continued, “The truth is, I didn’t know better then, but I do now. I’ve taken the time to reflect, to learn and to grow from that moment.”

She added, “I’ve changed a lot since then, not just in how I speak, but in how I show up, how I carry myself and how I honor the experiences of others.”

Escobar signed off with, “To those who are disappointed or offended, I understand and I apologize. I am sorry.”

The post Ousted ‘Love Island USA’ Contestant Apologizes for ‘Ignorantly’ Using Racial Slur: ‘It Is Not Mine to Use’ appeared first on TheWrap.

King Princess Traces Personal Connection to ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ Character in TV Debut: ‘Music Felt Really Stale’

Note: This story contains spoilers from “Nine Perfect Strangers” Season 2, Episode 4.

While King Princess is best known for her wide-ranging catalogue of pop music, the “1950” singer is taking a leap into acting with her TV debut on “Nine Perfect Strangers” Season 2, with a character whose disconnection to her musical roots mirrors the musician’s own journey.

“Music felt really stale for a minute,” King Princess told TheWrap, quickly adding that, “it doesn’t feel that way anymore” having just announced the debut of her next album this fall, titled “Girl Violence.” “I’ve been doing music professionally since I was a kid, so I was maybe just burnt out from it … but I still wanted to do something creative, and I still wanted to feel like I was honing a craft or learning.”

After going through the audition and callback process for a number of roles, the offer for the David E. Kelley Hulu series came through, offering King Princess the chance to play Tina, a child music prodigy facing a mental block when it comes to sitting back down at the piano again.

“For my first role, it wasn’t a huge jump,” the musician continued. “She’s kind of where I was at with music, literally, except she has no therapy or therapeutic tools. She’s somebody who has rejected all forms emotional investigation … she’s definitely gone to doctors, she’s gone to psychiatrists, but she’s not getting to the root of it.”

It’s that apathy that prompts Tina’s girlfriend, Wolfie (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) to bring her on the Austrian healing retreat led by Nicole Kidman’s Masha Dmitrichenko, with the hopes that gentle doses of psilocybin (a.k.a. magic mushrooms) can help unblock Tina’s trauma. Tina’s story gets a special spotlight in Episode 4 — starting with a surreal nightmare — that illuminates some revelations for both Tina and Wolfie.

Below, King Princess unpacks Tina’s tumultuous Episode 4 conversations, reveals a cut kiss between Tina and another house guest at Zauberwald and teases what’s to come for the rest of the season.

TheWrap: In Episode 4, we see things come to a head as Tina refuses to try music again. How does that conversation with Masha help her in her journey?

KP: She’s high on the shrooms, and she has this panic attack because she feels like this whole orchestra concert/jam session is being done to her, and then she takes the mushrooms and I think it’s just sensory overload, emotion overload. When she leaves and sits with Masha, this breakthrough happens — she doesn’t really want to be doing this for anyone else but herself, and right now, it’s not giving her joy, so what’s the point?

Her other big realization is like, “Oh my God, I’ve recreated my dynamic with my mother with my girlfriend — which, I’ve been there. It’s a lot of subtext — we don’t know necessarily about Tina’s Family, but I did a lot of writing what I thought her family was like, and what I wrote was that she had this mother who gave her praise when she was on stage only, and that she felt the love from her mother was conditional, and that condition was if she performed, then she got praise. And now she’s in a relationship that is clearly very triggering to her, she says, “I’m f–king my mom.”

Maisie Richardson-Sellers and King Princess in “Nine Perfect Strangers” Season 2 (Disney/Reiner Bajo)

Tina then has a difficult conversation with Wolfie, when Wolfie makes it clear she fell in love with Tina because of their connection to music. At this point does Tina think this relationship could continue?

Fair point from Wolfie. I think that’s what’s interesting about Tina and Wolfie is that they’re both right. Tina does want a partner who loves her unconditionally, and Wolf is like, “no, I don’t. I like the person that I fell in love with, who had a purpose, and that purpose was music and gave me therefore a purpose.” I think that it’s really fair what Wolfie is saying, I just think it’s really harsh and really brutal, and it leaves them at a crossroads where it’s like the people that they were when they met are not the people they are now, or at least for Tina, that’s true.

What was it like filming that nightmare scene?

Well, first of all, my mom was there, which was the first time my mom was on set. Me and Lizzy [Gardiner], the costume designer, and [director] Anthony [Byrne] made a lot of choices about what Tina would be wearing in her nightmare. We were thinking she’s this lesbian who probably used to be kind of femme, and now she’s cut her hair off, and she’s a little butch, and she’s figuring out masculinity. It’s a direct result of probably what she was forced to wear as a child. There’s a great show on Netflix all about child pianists, and [the costumes are] very flashy, it’s flashier than you think it is. Especially when you’re young kids, there’s like a pageantry to it. I was just trying to tap into the fact that this person, Tina, who we meet now is, like, this kind of butch dark cloud, and her nightmare is what she was forced to wear as a child, which is ruffly and pink and feminine.

That was the last scene I filmed before I wrapped so I literally left “Nine Perfect Strangers” covered in corn syrup, everywhere.

Molly De Leon, King Princess and Annie Murphy in “Nine Perfect Stranger” (Disney/Reiner Bajo)

Wolfie has made some connections in the house, but your character hasn’t until she has moment with Imogen. Is Imogen who she feels most close to in the house at the end of Episode 4?

Imogen and her circumstantially have a conversation, because there’s nowhere to go. I don’t think that they were two people who did connect — that moment was like their first time connecting, and it was really cute. I like that Tina is capable of being kind to pretty much everyone but her girlfriend and herself, and that’s an example of that. I think Murray [Bartlett’s] character, Brian, and Tina really get along and really connect and it’s partially because of the fact that Brian was kind to Tina when she was young, and I don’t think a lot of people were interested in her for anything other than her ability. I that she [finds it] interesting and and cool that Brian is a loose cannon — I think that she’s like, “God, I wish I could f–king let out my feelings like that,” because Tina’s more passive aggressive.

I do think the moment with Imogen is really sweet, you know, I think it’s about mommy issues. They’re drunk, and they find each other in this moment, and originally, there was a kiss, which I kind of wish was still in. We filmed it and everything.

What can you tease about how the rest of the season plays out?

It gets so kooky bananas. It’s so cray-cray. It’s such a fun ride. The story lines, Nicole’s storyline and the way that it all ties together is really, really clever. If you’re a sad lesbian, this is the show for you.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

“Nine Perfect Strangers” Episodes 1-4 are now streaming on Hulu, with new episodes dropping every Wednesday.

The post King Princess Traces Personal Connection to ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ Character in TV Debut: ‘Music Felt Really Stale’ appeared first on TheWrap.

‘Predator: Killer of Killers’ Review: Animated Hulu Anthology Is a Simplistic Blast From the Past

Three years ago, director Dan Trachtenberg brought the “Predator” franchise roaring back with “Prey.” Sure, it was just another movie about aliens hunting humans for sport, but “Prey” wisely set the action in an earlier era: hundreds of years ago, before sci-fi was a concept any character could reference, and when weapons were of comparatively mild destruction. The protagonist of “Prey,” a Comanche woman named Naru, was at a bigger disadvantage than any other protagonist in the series by default. The same old premise suddenly felt fresh again. The “Predator” formula got a much needed shot of caffeine.

“Prey” was such a great idea that it was bound to be copied. More monster movie prequels should take place in the past! “Predators fighting vikings,” that sounds like a cool movie. “Predators fighting samurai” sounds awesome as hell. “Predators in World War II?” Bring it on. There are so many great historical ideas for a “Predator” movie that Dan Trachtenberg could have easily mined this one conceptual pool for decades.

Or, he could do them all at once in an animated straight-to-streaming Hulu anthology movie called “Predator: Killer of Killers.” Which is, of course, exactly what he has done. He’s taking his cinematic ball and he’s taking it home so nobody else will get to play with it. The film is a fast-paced, violent blend of sci-fi monster madness and historical slightly-less-madness. That it works is no great surprise, since by its very construction, “Killer of Killers” is a glorified pitch reel, submitting for our approval a few nifty movie ideas and wrapping it all up in a tidy bow. All action, no filler.

On the other hand, “Killer of Killers” also proves that setting all the Predator movies in the past would get really repetitive, really quickly. The viking and samurai installments of this animated film, co-directed by Trachtenberg and Joshua Wassung, are simple variations on the very same theme. You can get away with that when each movie is just 15 minutes long. As feature films, the problem would be harder to overlook.

The first chapter of “Killer of Killers” tells the story of a viking woman on a quest for revenge, which gets interrupted by a Predator, who decides she’ll make a great opponent. The second chapter tells the story of a samurai on a quest for revenge, which gets interrupted by a different Predator, who decides he’ll make a great opponent. Trachtenberg and Wassung do a fine job of making these installments fit each time period and the fighting styles of their subgenres, but if that’s all there was to this animated “Predator” movie, it would barely be worth recommending.

The third storyline, set during WWII, tells the story of a mechanic who wants to be a fighter pilot, who finally climbs into the cockpit after a Yautja (that’s what the Predator’s species is called, look it up if you don’t believe me) starts harpooning American fighters in the sky like the Red Baron and Captain Ahab pooled their resources and bought a UFO. The aerial tricks that get pulled in this “Killer of Killers” storyline strain credulity, even by this franchise’s standards, but it’s a welcome change of pace, befitting the themes of the series while also approaching a familiar premise from a fresh, thrilling angle.

There’s more to “Predator: Killer of Killers,” a final chapter where all the pieces we’ve seen so far fall into place. It gives the film a satisfying, if frustratingly sequel-teasing, conclusion. The movie does reveal a little more about the Yautja than we’d previously known before, although we still know very little. All we ever see is these guys hunting humans and fighting like gladiators. Who’s maintaining all their computer systems? Who’s sweeping the floors? Is there a Yautja in a chef’s hat grilling all their cheese? They have a highly intricate infrastructure and elaborate technology, so are some of them trophy hunters all of the time and the rest are just working dead-end jobs in middle management, or are all of these unstoppable badasses just weekend warriors who go back to the daily grind after they mount Arnold Schwarzenegger’s skull on the mantel in their pool room?

“Predator: Killer of Killers” has an animation style that’s increasingly popular, a CGI approach that evokes video game cut scenes. Your mileage might vary on how immersive that is for you — it either comes across like a game your older brother never lets you play, or like a little brother to the more elaborate and expensive computer-generated productions. The animation gets the job done, but it may take some people a while to get used to, unless they’re already growing up with this as their industry standard.

Dan Trachtenberg and Joshua Wassung’s animated “Predator” sequel takes a while to prove it’s more than just a demo reel of superficial badassery, but when it does, it’s involving and intense. It’s hard not to love at least a couple of these characters, who keep getting screwed over by their own propensity for violence. If you’re so deadly that monsters travel millions of light years just to try to murder you, you might have flown a little too close to the sun. You never see a Predator hunting the attendees at a needlepointing convention, that’s all I’m saying.

“Predator: Killer of Killers” is now streaming on Hulu in the U.S. and on Disney+ internationally.

The post ‘Predator: Killer of Killers’ Review: Animated Hulu Anthology Is a Simplistic Blast From the Past appeared first on TheWrap.

Hannity Downplays Musk vs. Trump by Asking if Bill Clinton Is in the Epstein Files | Video

Sean Hannity weighed in on Elon Musk and President Donald Trump’s rather dramatic Thursday by downplaying the former’s Epstein Files accusations against the latter — all while questioning if former President Bill Clinton might be in said files as well.

“We begin tonight with a flurry of activity today at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. And yes, let not your heart be troubled, I will address the battle between President Trump and Elon Musk. I know it’s of such great international importance,” he said, rolling his eyes, atop his Fox News show.

“It got personal, Elon Musk claiming, ‘Oh, Trump is in the Epstein Files. That’s the real reason they have not been made public.’ Well, it’s been well-known that Donald Trump said that Elon was angry over Trump’s decision to end the electric vehicle mandate. I can certainly understand why Elon, you know, wants that in the One Big, Beautiful Bill, pretty obvious, pretty apparent, understandable difference,” Hannity said. “And on the Epstein issue, wasn’t it Donald Trump who booted Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago nearly 20 years ago because he was one of the first people to realize just how horrible Epstein really was? And by all accounts, he was kicked out because of his treatment of young women.”

“Now, Democrats and the media — I’m just thinking out loud here, I’m just wondering, putting two and two together — I truly wonder, if our old friend Bill Clinton, ‘How you doin’? Good to talk to you?’ You know he had a relationship with Epstein, that’s been reported on. Is Bill Clinton in those files also?” he then asked. “I can’t say for sure, I haven’t seen them, but if I was a betting man, I know where I’d put my money. Now if by some chance that Bill Clinton is in there, I wonder if he kicked Epstein out of his life as publicly as Donald Trump did? I guess if Donald Trump felt that Epstein had something on him, he probably wouldn’t have kicked him out of his club. Inquiring minds, I think, they’ll want to know that.”

In the end, like fellow Fox News talent Laura Ingraham, Hannity thinks this feud will all blow over sooner or later.

“I interviewed them together,” he recalled. “The first thing I said to them, and talked about, and asked them, ‘You do know that the media mob — the legacy media mob desperately wants to tear you guys apart and for you two to fight and to get a divorce?’ And now the media mob is particularly elated.”

“Let’s be very blunt here: Big deal. It’s an online public spat between two very powerful men over what is, really, a policy difference. It got personal and still despite all about bad blood, I’m going to make a bold prediction — I could be wrong — I think that Donald Trump and Elon Musk, they’ll work it out eventually, they’ll become friends again,” Hannity concluded. “These are two very talented individuals. Frankly, they don’t need each other to be successful, but I do hope they work it out and set an example for the rest of the country.”

It’s worth noting that both Clinton and Trump had been photographed with Epstein prior to his death.

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All the Songs in ‘Ginny & Georgia’ Season 3

“Ginny & Georgia” returned for Season 3 on Netflix with more chaos for the mother-daughter duo, as Georgia faces a murder trial and a lifetime prison sentence.

As such, a moody mash-up of songs accompanies this thrilling batch of episodes. Ginny is navigating her own challenges at school as her peers learn of her mother’s criminal record, while jumping through hoops to connect with her mother.

Season 3 features tracks from electronic dance group Jungle and a classic (and recently trending) tune from Patsy Cline. Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Remi Wolf and YEBBA’s songs also make an appearance in the Netflix series.

For a full breakdown of all the songs in Season 3 of “Ginny & Georgia,” keep reading:

Episode 1: “This Wouldn’t Even Be a Podcast”“Find You Out” – Sidney Gish, CLAVVS“I Don’t Care” – LALL“Small Doses” – Camille Cano“Dancing in the Dark” – LØLØ“Can I Talk My Shit” – Vagabon“So Dramatic!” – Fake Dad“I Can’t Fly” – Anna Sofia“Mheer Sag” – Bee Bee Sea“Ohio” – Specific Coast“Anti Hero” – Tessa Rose Jackson, Franklin Mansion“All Alone” – David O’DowdaMama Was a Bad Seed” – Rozetta Johnson“The Devil” – Banks“Liar” – Plexxaglass“It’s Called: Freefall” – Rainbow Kitten SurpriseEpisode 2: “Beep Beep Freaking Beep”“Trip Around the Sun” – MisterWives“Neon Buzz” – Glades“Window” – Moglii & Tonio“In The Garden” – Hugh Trimble“Cigarette” – Shaya Zamora“Sunny Day” – Mr. Tout Le Monde“Invisible (Max & Bracia’s Duet)” Original song from Mousse“Trainwreckin’” – Ruthie Collins“Too Proud” – Broods“Coconut” – Chair Model“Good Friends” – Black Roses“Bioluminescence” – Goth Babe“benny!” – Rae Khalil“Miss You” – Arthur Wimble“Rewind” – Aby CoulibalyEpisode 3: “Friends Can Dance”“Dancing in Real Time” – GGOOLLDD“Summer Song” – Remy Bond“Lou’s Tune” – DARGZ“Hurt” – Arlo Parks“Baby” – Donna Blue“The Bottom Of It” – Fruit Bats“Pretty Boy” – Cannons“Kiss Me (Cover)” – Specific Coast“Hello Hello Hello” – Remi Wolf“Mt. Airy” – Korine“Holiday” – New Julius“Faster” – Hooked“Wasted” – Billy Uomo“I Just Wanna” – KaliEpisode 4: “The Bitch Is Back”“Fish” – Addison Grace“Rainy Day” – Hank May“Lushland” – Silas Short“10 Boyfriends” – Chrissy Chlapecka“Back on 74” – Jungle“Hey Babe” – Matt Hartke“Guilty Love” – Ladyhawke & Broods“Never Even Had a Chance” – Pepper JohnsonEpisode 5: “Boom Goes the Dynamite”“Way Down We Go” – Kaleo“Double Down” – Go-Jo“Searing” – Imaginary Ambition“Last Men Standing” – Loic Ghanem“Swerve” Yutopia, Juliette Reilly“Peach” – Broods“2AM” – Landon Conrath“Waiting on Sunshine” – Evenson“Burn” – Astyria“Alright” – Fulton Lee“Game of Survival” – Ruelle“Madness” – Ruelle“Dark Things” – AdonaEpisode 6: “At Least It Can’t Get Any Worse” “Crazy” – Jesse Reyez“Crazy” – Patsy Cline“Lifeblood” – Brand of Sacrifice“All In (But Sad)” – Specific Coast“Love Is Overrated” – Lightheaded“Sophie’s House” – half-alive“Sincerely Yours” – Joell Ortiz“The Top” – Oliver Rodley“Femmenomenom” – Femme Deadly Venoms“Microdosing” – UNIIQU3“Turn It Up” – Bunny Machete, Hunter Love“Ba Da Bum Bum (ft Speek Eazy)” – Kali J“Say My Name” – Sophie Lindinger“Grab My Coat” – Amie Blu and Humble the Great“Better Luck” – Lunar Vacation“Haunt” – Yumi Zouma“Kodak Moment” – Daju“Run On” – Arvid NeroEpisode 7: “That’s Wild”“blue in miami” – Melting Resonance“Be Fair” – Computer Magic“Poison Baby” – Lysell“Push N Shuv” – Lava La Rue“Ego” – Maddie Regent“Little Lies” – The Dead Tongues“Late Now” – Shiv“That Was Then” – Emily James“Psychic” – Conner Nelson“Bad Things” – Summer Kennedy“B-A-B-Y-” – Carla ThomasEpisode 8: “Is That a Packed Lunch?”“Sociopath (feat. Bryce Fox)” – SteLouse“Cold Blood” – Tamahau“Lavender Blues” – Surely Shirley“Good Girl (Max’s Song)” Original song from Mousse“Stressed Out” – Goldwater“Higher State (ft. Jafaris)” – Sweetlemondae“Destructive” – Bahari“iDWF” – Lumin“Skin and Bones” – David Kushner“Start a Riot” – Banners“Coming of Age Heartbreak” – Carolina RialEpisode 9: “It’s Time For My Solo”“Oh My My” – Summer Kennedy“Ego” – Maddie Regent“Burn Out” – Black Roses“I Wouldn’t Love Me” – Sam Short“Light the Way” – Casual Sex“I Need to Cry” – iamhill“Dear to Me” – Electric Guest“Lemonade Jingle” – flashback on-cam“Alright” – AIZA“Walk” – Pools“Trouble (Bracia’s Song)” Original song from Mousse“Good Girl (Max’s Song)” Original song from Mousse“Invisible (Max & Bracia’s Duet)” Original song from Mousse“I’m A Man (Sophie’s Song)” Original song from Mousse“Trouble Reprise” Original song from Mousse“Something About You” – I.F.“Boomerang” – YEBBA“Raincloud” – Baby Bugs“How Villains Are Made” – Madalen DukeEpisode 10: “Monsters”“Awoo” – Sofi Tukker“The Angel and the Saint” – Goldie Boutillier“Sail Away” – Lovelytheband“Lost Gold” – Karma Sun“Could You Love Me While I Hate Myself” – Zeph“Welcome Back to Me” – Meryem Aboulouafa“Hands on the Clock” – Star Slinger, Yessica Woahneil, Gayasi“Wednesday” – Specific Coast, Villa Coola“Meant to Be” – Ber, Charlie Oriain“Loveless” – Famous Friend“Tragic” – Charly Bliss“Breath of Roma” – Meryem Aboulouafa“Not About You” – Haiku Hands“Lemonade” – Money Dolls“You There” – Aquilo“The End” – Tom Odell“Angel Baby” – Rosie & The Originals

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