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Friday, December 04, 2020
Previewing Shameless: The Final Season
Thursday, December 03, 2020
Previewing Your Honor
The first episode of Your Honor is so generic, take out the partial nudity and a couple naughty words and you probably could have mistaken it for a basic cable show from about fifteen years ago. The show follows the unfortunately even where a asthmatic runs over someone on a motorcycle while searching for his inhalers during an episode. But this is not just any asthmatic; he is the son of a judge. A very sympathetic judge, played by Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle) who will stop by a house where a crime was committed to see if a testifying beat cop could possibly see what he claims he saw before arresting someone.
Oh, and the kid on the motorcycle is also not just any kid, but the son of the most vicious crime family in the history of New Orleans despite being very religious. I guess some of those Commandments, like Thou Shall Not Kill are just suggestions. You can see exactly where this is going. Well, at least for the first episode. For as clichéd as the first episode was, the second episode is packed full of surprises, none more so than where we first see the girl the judge’s kid was forking in the premiere. Though that may be the most inconsequential part of the plot.
Crime shows like this usually feature smart people keeping one step ahead of the law and/or just barely one step ahead the antagonist, but what sets Your Honor apart and keeps itself somewhat interesting is that people start getting really dumb in the second episode. Seriously, if you are driving a stolen car, how about not run a stop sign, especially if you are black in a place where cops sometime do not even wait for a reason to pull you over.
While sometimes these stupid acts keeps things entertaining and unpredictable (see The Flight Attendant who has been great at this so far), sometimes plot contrivances can be too much like when the dog finds a blood rag, somehow loses it under a cabinet and then spends multiple episodes trying to retrieve while the owner just tells him to shut up. Almost half way through the season and I am still not sure if Your Honor is good enough, but thankfully it is billed as a limited series so I will not have to spend multiple seasons trying to figure it out.
Your Honor airs Sundays at 10:00 on Showtime.
Sunday, November 29, 2020
57 Channels and Only This Is On: November 29, 2020
Saturday, November 28, 2020
Around the Tubes: November 28, 2020
I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Shameless, The Weeknd, Goo Goo Dolls, and Blood Sweat and Tears.
Sunday, November 22, 2020
57 Channels and Only This Is On: November 22, 2020
The Good Lord Bird: If this were an action movie, we know John Brown would have been able to shoot his way out of the predicament, but alas, this was based on real events and unfortunately the racist won this battle. Hopefully John Brown can rest in the solace than the abolitionists won the war and the Black Man Is free today. Well, or at the very least, freer because of him.
You can download Fargo on iTunes.
Saturday, November 21, 2020
Around the Tubes: November 21, 2020
I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on 1917, Mary J. Blige, Eddie Vedder, The Offspring, The Go-Go’s, Metallica, Noël Wells, Evie Irie, Paris Jackson, Verve Records, Fill The Stadium, Macho, Game Show Network marathon, Woke, and I Love You For This.
- The television premiere of the acclaimed, award-winning film 1917, directed and produced by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes (Skyfall, American Beauty), will air on SHOWTIME on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The movie will also be available for network subscribers across SHOWTIME platforms and distributor platforms. Taking audiences and critics alike by storm when it opened in 2019, 1917 ultimately earned 10 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, and three Golden Globe® nominations. It went on to win three Academy Awards and two Golden Globes, including Best Picture – Drama and Best Director. The film tells the story of two young British soldiers at the height of World War I, Lance Corporal Schofield (George MacKay) and Lance Corporal Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) as they are given a seemingly impossible task. In a race against time, they must cross enemy territory to deliver a message that could potentially save 1,600 of their fellow soldiers – Blake’s own brother among them. In addition to MacKay and Chapman, 1917 also stars Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch.
- Following the global broadcast of Venture Into Cures, last night Eddie Vedder released a pair of singles—“Matter of Time” and “Say Hi.” Check out the two new tracks available at all digital streaming partners HERE via Monkeywrench/Republic Records. Additionally, he shared an animated music video for the powerful, passionate, and poetic “Matter of Time” and live video for “Say Hi,” an oft-sought after live favorite now officially available for the first time. Plus, a special pre-order just went live for the limited-edition “Matter of Time”/ “Say Hi” 7-inch vinyl, releasing soon.
- To commemorate its 20th anniversary, Conspiracy of One, the sixth album by punk rock trailblazers the Offspring, will once again be available on vinyl - the first time since its release in 2000. On December 11, Round Hill Records/UMe will release a deluxe version of Conspiracy of One pressed to yellow and red splatter vinyl, which includes spot gloss on the cover and a custom turntable slipmat featuring the Offspring's flaming skull silhouette logo. A non-deluxe, limited-edition canary yellow vinyl variant will be available on uDiscover & The Sound of Vinyl. A standard black vinyl version will be released in early 2021. Listen or pre-order Conspiracy of One HERE. All editions will feature the bonus track "Huck It." The anthemic, sub-three-minute blast was featured on their 2000 VHS/DVD Huck It and used to soundtrack various skateboard stunts, including longtime Offspring drummer Ron Welty doing a successful board-to-board leap over two of his bandmates. "Huck It" will be released as a stand-alone digital single on November 13. A lyric video featuring footage from the Huck It VHS/DVD will also be released on November 13. In addition, the official videos for Conspiracy's first two singles - "Original Prankster" and "Want You Bad" - will be available on the Offspring's Official YouTube channel in newly remastered HD.
- On December 4, The Collection, a 5CD collection featuring the albums Frank, Back To Black and Lioness: Hidden Treasures, will be released via Island/UMe. Frank was Amy's debut album, originally released on October 20, 2003, and features the hit single "Stronger Than Me" for which Amy won an Ivor Novello Award in 2004. Back To Black, widely regarded as a masterpiece by fans and critics alike, was originally released on October 27, 2006, and has sold over 16 million copies worldwide to date. It features the singles "Rehab," "You Know I'm No Good," "Back To Black," "Tears Dry On Their Own" and "Love Is A Losing Game." Lioness: Hidden Treasures is a posthumous compilation album, first released on December 2, 2011, and notably features the Grammy® Award- winning duet "Body and Soul" with Tony Bennett. In addition to these three albums, the set contains Live In London, a concert recorded at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, London in 2007 and a collection of remixes from Frank and Back To Black, such as a Hot Chip remix of "Rehab," and a Kardinal Beats remix of "Love Is A Losing Game." These two discs appear on CD for the first time as part of this set. Preorder The Collection here: https://amywinehouse.lnk.to/
- Multi-platinum Los Angeles rock band The Go-Go’s, featuring Charlotte Caffey, Belinda Carlisle, Gina Schock, Kathy Valentine and Jane Wiedlin, will see the release of their universally acclaimed, 2020 Critics Choice Award winning documentary THE GO-GO’S on DVD and Blu-ray formats (Polygram/UMe) and through digital download & rental services (Eagle Rock Entertainment) on February 5, 2021. Pre order the DVD and Blu-ray here. The Alison Ellwood-directed THE GO-GO’S documentary, which first premiered at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, aired over the summer on Showtime to rave reviews, achieved a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and won a 2020 Critics Choice Award for “Best Music Documentary” in addition to receiving the honor of “Most Compelling Living Subjects in a Documentary.”
- Metallica, which is known for its energetic, all-encompassing live concerts, raised the bar for virtual performances during their Helping Hands Concert and Auction charity event on Nov.14. The band used Virtual Crowd technology to get up close and personal with fans around the world. Virtual Crowd, a fully customizable and scalable multimedia technology, allows artists to interact with their fans in real-time while showcasing high-quality production value and design — something that Metallica took to the next level with their show as they rocked out while surrounded by walls of video screens displaying faces of their fans, some of whom they engaged with during breaks in the music. Virtual Crowd technology, created by Fireplay in partnership with Production Resource Group (PRG) and Clair Global, has been a boon for behind-the-scenes live event masterminds like Dan Braun, Metallica’s Creative Director and Scenic Designer. He was absolutely dazzled by the stunning and seamless Virtual Crowd integration into the Helping Hands event. Braun had an idea of bringing live crowds into virtual event but wasn’t sure it was possible to execute. After PRG showed him a demo of Virtual Crowd and introduced him to the Fireplay team, he was blown away.
- Actress, filmmaker, comedian and singer-songwriter Noël Wells is excited to release her reimagined version of the Bill Withers classic “Lovely Day.” Produced by David Thomas Jones, Wells’ cover of the iconic R&B/soul song was born out of a vision of the world dancing, along with a much needed global exhale. “During this whole political season, I’ve been watching people’s roller skating videos on Instagram as a way of getting a little serotonin bump,” Wells says. “I wanted the track to feel like a glitter disco, something you can dance and skate to and feel really free.“ The track’s emotional and political expressions also continue to be universal in 2020, some 40+ years after the song’s original release. “I just love the message of the song,” she continues. “It’s pure love, and no matter what ‘out there’ might get you down, if you have someone you love and your friends and the things that matter around you, you can tune out that noise.” Stream “Lovely Day” over at Rolling Stone HERE and on YouTube HERE.
- This holiday season, Verve Records/UMe is boxing up some of the most classic jazz holiday titles and wrapping them in a new vinyl box set titled Verve Wishes You a Swinging Christmas. This lavish collection brings together Ella Fitzgerald’s Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas (1960), Kenny Burrell’s Have Yourself a Soulful Little Christmas (1966), Ramsey Lewis’s Sound of Christmas (1961) and Jimmy Smith’s Christmas ‘64 (1964) (also known as Christmas Cookin’) for the first time. With the holidays just around the corner, it’s the perfect swinging, syncopated backdrop to get you in the Yuletide spirit and soundtrack your festivities. Purchase Verve Wishes You a Swinging Christmas now: https://Verve.lnk.to/
- The year 2020 has been unlike any other due to the powerful coronavirus and its effect on those in need. But the virus cannot stop a determined community of athletes and influencers from advocating for the needs of children living in desperate poverty around the globe. Fill The Stadium (www.FillTheStadium.com) is an urgent effort with a unique goal. It seeks to help 70,000 children and their families through the critical next 12 months—roughly the same number of “seats” that typically occupy most pro-football stadiums in America. Fill The Stadium encourages those who would normally spend money to attend a pro-football game this year—but who cannot because of COVID-19—to choose instead to support struggling children who need essential food and medical care. The Fill The Stadium lead team consists of standout professional athletes, business leaders, and pastors—and already they’ve attracted a strong assist to their God-focused cause. Steve Stenstrom is president of Pro Athletes Outreach—and as a former NFL quarterback, he knows all about getting the ball over the line for a winning purpose. Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado is CEO and president of Compassion International, a Christ-centered, church-driven ministry dedicated to releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Together, they seek to Fill The Stadium.
- Showtime Sports Documentary Films has released the trailer and poster art for the upcoming documentary MACHO: THE HECTOR CAMACHO STORY, an unflinching look at the remarkable life, storied career and unsolved murder of one of boxing’s greatest showmen. Premiering Friday, December 4 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME, the documentary debuts eight years after Camacho’s fatal shooting in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. To watch and share the trailer, visit: https://s.sho.com/2IPqZP5. For the first time on film, MACHO: THE HECTOR CAMACHO STORY offers a thorough examination of the unlikely sports hero. The film celebrates Camacho’s sublime boxing skills and the unbridled charisma that brought Spanish Harlem and Puerto Rican culture to the center of the sports world. Through rare and revealing interviews with his mother, Maria Matias, sisters, wife Amy and son Hector Jr., the documentary also delves into the legendary fighter’s troubled mind and spirit, his battle with addiction and the inner turmoil that ultimately lead to his demise – a mysterious roadside double homicide in November 2012.
- Celebrate Thanksgiving with a Game Show Network marathon! Gather the family ‘round to test your everyday know-how with COMMON KNOWLEDGE, fill in the blanks with AMERICA SAYS, and test your trivia prowess with MASTER MINDS while you're waiting for (or digesting) that delicious turkey.
Thanksgiving Day Marathon, Thursday November 26th:
8:00am - 11:00am – Common Knowledge
11:00am - 4:00pm – America Says
4:00pm - 6:30pm – Master Minds
- Hulu has renewed live-action/animated hybrid Original comedy series Woke, inspired by the life of award-winning artist Keith Knight, for a second season (8 episodes). The first season debuted on Hulu, Wednesday, September 9 and is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Starring Lamorne Morris, Woke takes an absurdist look at identity and culture through the lens of Keef – a Black cartoonist finally on the verge of mainstream success, when an unexpected incident changes everything. With a newfound consciousness, Keef must navigate the new voices and ideas challenging him, all without setting aflame to everything he’s already built.
- Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Cybill Shepherd (Cybill, Moonlighting) has signed on to star in the half-hour comedy pilot I LOVE THIS FOR YOU (fka BIG DEAL), starring and executive produced by Emmy nominee Vanessa Bayer (Saturday Night Live). Shepherd will play Patricia Kunken, the icy, enigmatic founder and CEO of a popular home shopping network. She joins the previously announced Molly Shannon (The Other Two).
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Previewing No Man's Land
No Man’s Land opens up with what may be the longest string of title cards I can remember. Five pages lets the views in on what the show is going to focus on, basically giving you a quick rundown on the Syrian civil war and highlighting on a predominately female voluntary militia that is fighting ISIS. Maybe this lengthy diatribe is just setting up Americans to read because I would guestimate that seventy percent of the dialogue is in a foreign language (the show is co-produced by ARTE France) and thus subtitled. On a side note, those three years of French in high school did not help at all for me here. But Americans may want to keep the closed captioning on because even when the Fresh and Syrian speak English, it is still sometimes hard to understand.
Sunday, November 15, 2020
57 Channels and Only This Is On: November 15, 2020
The Good Lord Bird: I have been waiting two episodes for a heist episode and it looks like it will never come because this seems very much like this will be John Brown’s last stand. Granted we do know Onion escapes as we see him comment on Brown’s execution in the first episode. But who else in the gang will get out of this alive.
Saturday, November 14, 2020
Around the Tubes: November 14, 2020
I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on The Happiest Season, I am Greta, Desus and Mero, Benee, Paris Jackson, Isabela Merced, Billie Holiday, Ariana Grande, El Sicario, and the Hulu Winter Schedule.
- Ready for some holiday cheer? The HAPPIEST SEASON official trailer is finally here! The Hulu Original romantic comedy film premieres November 25 on Hulu. Meeting your girlfriend’s family for the first time can be tough. Planning to propose at her family’s annual Christmas dinner — until you realize that they don’t even know she’s gay — is even harder. When Abby (Kristen Stewart) learns that Harper (Mackenzie Davis) has kept their relationship a secret from her family, she begins to question the girlfriend she thought she knew. HAPPIEST SEASON is a holiday romantic comedy that hilariously captures the range of emotions tied to wanting your family’s acceptance, being true to yourself, and trying not to ruin Christmas.
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