Rachel

“Good Omens” Season 3 will be just one episode and will move forward without Neil Gaiman, Variety has learned. It was previously announced that Season 3 of the Amazon Prime Video series, which is based on the book of the same name by Terry Pratchett and Gaiman, would be the show’s last. However, production was […]

Scientists at the University of Waterloo have identified one of the doomed crew members of Captain Sir John S. Franklin's 1846 Arctic expedition to cross the Northwest Passage. According to a recent paper published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, DNA analysis revealed that a tooth recovered from a mandible at one of the relevant archaeological sites was that of Captain James Fitzjames of the HMS Erebus. His remains show clear signs of cannibalism, confirming early Inuit reports of desperate crew members resorting to eating their dead.

"Concrete evidence of James Fitzjames as the first identified victim of cannibalism lifts the veil of anonymity that for 170 years spared the families of individual members of the 1845 Franklin expedition from the horrific reality of what might have befallen the body of their ancestor," the authors wrote in their paper. "But it also shows that neither rank nor status was the governing principle in the final desperate days of the expedition as they strove to save themselves."

As previously reported, Franklin's two ships, the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror, became icebound in the Victoria Strait, and all 129 crew members ultimately died. It has been an enduring mystery that has captured imaginations ever since. Novelist Dan Simmons immortalized the expedition in his 2007 horror novel, The Terror, which was later adapted into an anthology TV series for AMC in 2018.

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The show was a groundbreaking smash, but behind the scenes it devolved into such toxicity that even co-showrunner Damon Lindelof now says of his leadership: “I failed.” A powerful excerpt from the new book Burn It Down.

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Diana Gabaldon shared the happy news yesterday that her ninth Outlander novel, Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone will officially release on November 23, 2021.  She also revealed the cover and the UK cover.

This is the official synopsis from Penguin Random House:

The past may seem the safest place to be . . . but it is the most dangerous time to be alive. . . .Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall were torn apart by the Jacobite Rising in 1743, and it took them twenty years to find each other again. Now the American Revolution threatens to do the same.It is 1779 and Claire and Jamie are at last reunited with their daughter, Brianna, her husband, Roger, and their children on Fraser’s Ridge. Having the family together is a dream the Frasers had thought impossible.

Yet even in the North Carolina backcountry, the effects of war are being felt. Tensions in the Colonies are great and local feelings run hot enough to boil Hell’s tea-kettle. Jamie knows loyalties among his tenants are split and it won’t be long until the war is on his doorstep.

Brianna and Roger have their own worry: that the dangers that provoked their escape from the twentieth century might catch up to them. Sometimes they question whether risking the perils of the 1700s—among them disease, starvation, and an impending war—was indeed the safer choice for their family.

Not so far away, young William Ransom is still coming to terms with the discovery of his true father’s identity—and thus his own—and Lord John Grey has reconciliations to make, and dangers to meet . . . on his son’s behalf, and his own.

Meanwhile, the Revolutionary War creeps ever closer to Fraser’s Ridge. And with the family finally together, Jamie and Claire have more at stake than ever before.

Here are some links to pre-order the book in case you have not already.  Please click on the hyperlink to go to that store.

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, Bookshop.org, Hudson Booksellers, IndieBound, Powell’s, The Poisoned Pen, Waterstones (UK)

Signed copies: The Poisoned Pen, Waterstones (UK) 

Source: Penguin Random House, Diana Gabaldon on Twitter

The post ‘Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone’ Releases November 23, 2021 first appeared on Outlander TV News.

Xavier Marabout painted an amusing yet exquisitely detailed series of works depicting Tintin, the overwhelmingly decent and heroic journalist, hanging out with women—a rare creature in the works of Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Moulinsart S.A., the company that holds the right's to Hergé's work, sued for infringement over the depictions and has lost big. — Read the rest

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Fans of The Flight Attendant can rest easy knowing that a season 2 is officially on the way.

HBO Max announced on Friday (December 18) that it has officially renewed The Flight Attendant for a season 2.

Word of a season 2 renewal couldn’t have come at a better time for fans who’ve been following along with the hit comedic thriller since the series first debuted on November 26. In fact, today’s big news comes just 24 hours after The Flight Attendant’s season finale aired via HBO Max on Thursday (December 17) night.

In a statement announcing today’s big news, series star and executive producer Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory) spoke of how excited she is to be returning for a second season.

“To say that I am elated would be an understatement! The positive response to our show has surpassed all of our expectations and I’m so proud of the entire team behind its success,” said Cuoco.

“I’m thrilled to continue my partnership with Team Berlanti, Yockey, HBO Max and of course my beloved studio, Warner Bros. I have amazing partners in Suzanne McCormack and Mackenzie Shade at Yes, Norman Prods., where we are committed to delivering diverse and quality entertainment, including an exciting (and probably a little crazy) TFA season 2!!”

Based on the New York Times bestseller by author Chris Bohjalian, The Flight Attendant follows the titular Cassie Bowden (Cuoco) after she wakes up in the wrong hotel, in the wrong bed, with a dead man, and no idea what happened.

Currently, there’s no word on when we might expect to see The Flight Attendant season 2 debut via HBO Max.

The post HBO Max renews ‘The Flight Attendant’ for season 2 appeared first on Hypable.

JESUITS! IN! SPAAAACE!

Per Variety, Queen’s Gambit co-creator, director, and showrunner Scott Frank is adapting Mary Doria Russell’s classic novel, The Sparrow, for FX. Frank is said to be “writing every episode” of the limited series, with Johan Renck, late of Chernobyl and Breaking Bad on board to direct, and Better Call Saul’s Mark Johnson joining as executive producer.

The Sparrow was published in 1996, and was immediately hailed as a modern classic. Set in a near-future, the novel follows a Jesuit priest, Emilio Sandoz, the only survivor of a mission to the newly-discovered planet Rakhat. When Father Sandoz left for his mission, there was talk of canonizing him. But when we meet him, he is mentally shattered, physically mutilated… and don’t even get him started on God.

So, what happened on Rakhat? Where are the rest of the crew? How did everything go so terribly, terribly wrong?

No news of casting yet, but one of The Sparrow‘s strengths is its diverse set of characters: Emilio Sandoz is a Puerto Rican linguist of Taino descent, Sofia Mendez is a Jewish AI specialist from Turkey, married couple George and Ann Edwards are a retired engineer and doctor, respectively, who are essentially later-in-life hippies, and they’re joined by computer scientist and much-needed goofball Jimmy Quinn. Sandoz’ fellow Jesuits could each star in a book of their own. And I haven’t even gotten to the aliens yet. In addition to the casting potential, the work is a dense and moving exploration of faith, trauma, and how sometimes people with the best intentions in the universe can cause problems they never imagined. And somehow it’s also hilarious?

There was one prior attempt to adapt the novel. In 2006 Back in 2006, Brad Pitt’s company, Plan B acquired the rights, and got as far as developing a script, but the project eventually stalled. Hopefully this one will complete its mission!

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Lionsgate announces John Wick 5 & back-to-back productions!

With just three mainline films under its belt, the John Wick franchise is quickly on its way to becoming Lionsgate’s most-acclaimed and financially successful franchises of theirs yet and they’re looking to keep it going as John Wick 5 has officially been confirmed in a recent studio earnings call, according to Deadline.

RELATED: John Wick Chapter 4 Release Date Confirmed by Lionsgate!

During the earnings call, Lionsgate CEO John Feltheimer initially confirmed the release date for the forth coming fourth installment in the hit action franchise and went on to confirm a fifth film is in the works as well as hopes to keep the cameras rolling immediately after production wraps on John Wick 4.

“We’re also busy preparing scripts for the next two installments of our John Wick action franchise, with John Wick 4 slated to hit theatres Memorial Day weekend 2022,” Feltheimer said in the call. “We hope to shoot both John Wick 4 & 5 back to back when Keanu becomes available early next year.”

The Keanu Reeves-led series has been a major hit for Lionsgate thus far, grossing nearly $600 million at the global box office and receiving rave reviews from critics and audiences alike, with each subsequent installment garnering larger praise than its predecessor. Its success has not only spawned the multiple sequels, but also a spin-off film Ballerina with Chapter 3 — Parabellum co-scribe Shay Hatten penning the script and Len Wiseman (Underworld) directing, as well as a Starz series centered on the underworld hotel The Continental, which is looking to debut sometime after the fourth film.

John Wick 4 director Chad Stahelski recently confirmed that Reeves was only four weeks into shooting The Matrix 4 when COVID-19 concerns forced a shutdown. Reeves will have to complete his commitment to the Lana Wachowski sequel before moving on to John Wick Chapter 4.

John Wick 4 was originally set to release on the same day as The Matrix 4 on May 21, 2021, in what has been dubbed by fans as Keanu Day. We can only hope that The Matrix 4 will also relocate to May 27, 2022!

RELATED: Keanu Reeves Begins Training for John Wick 4 and The Matrix 4

Are you excited about the new John Wick Chapter 4 release date? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Lionsgate Announces John Wick 5 & Back-to-Back Productions! appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

Shortly after the release of Bill and Ted Face the Music, Ed Solomon (who co-wrote the film with Chris Matheson) responded to a dismissal of the movie’s science by tagging quantum physicist Spiros Michalakis for confirmation that his portrayal of time travel checked out.

While Solomon found the exchange funny, in a Marshall McLuhan in Annie Hall sort of way, it does raise a question: Does good time travel science make for a good time travel movie? While there are certainly hard science fans out there, and scientific discovery has always opened up storytelling possibilities, we don’t always place that demand on other types of stories. We don’t generally criticize superhero movies for failing to explain how the heroes’ powers work, for example. Explaining the Force in terms of microscopic living beings didn’t make Star Wars better.

Still, the question persists for time travel movies. So I’m going to solve it, once and for all.

I’m proposing this rubric for some of the all-time best time travel movies. Instead of judging the films on basic aesthetic or technical grounds, I’ll grade them according to the quality of their time travel. Specifically, I’ll look at these four qualities:

1. The Device – What do the characters use to travel through time?
2. The Rules – Do we understand how the time travel works? Do we understand what the characters can or cannot do?
3. The Stakes – Does it matter if the characters break those rules? Does it matter if they fail in their time travel mission?
4. Entertainment Value – Does the time travel result in a story or resolution that’s entertaining, moving, or thought-provoking?

To prevent havoc in the comments section, I want to make my definition clear. By “time travel movies,” I mean movies primarily about a character (or group of characters) who move forward and/or backward in time. Their stories proceed in a more or less linear fashion, even if the settings around them take place in different time frames.

I want to distinguish these movies from time-loop movies (Groundhog Day, Happy Death Day), “Rip Van Winkle” stories (Planet of the Apes, Encino Man), or those in which people perceive time differently (Slaughter-house Five, Arrival). I’m also leaving out movies where time travel occurs, but it isn’t the focus of the film (so no Superman: The Movie or Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). Finally, I’m not going to talk about Midnight in Paris because I already mentioned a Woody Allen movie once and I feel dirty enough as it is.

With that out of the way, let’s see who passes and who fails, according to these criteria!

 

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986, dir. Leonard Nimoy)

When a destructive space probe comes to Earth looking to commune with whales, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) travels with his crew to 1986 on a mission to find the now-extinct sea creatures.

Device: B+

By this point in their adventures, the USS Enterprise has been through time and space. But that ship was destroyed in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, so Kirk and his crew are still in a rickety Klingon Bird-of-Prey. Still, the vessel allows them to slingshot around the sun and go back in time.

Rules: A+

When Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelly) tries to stop Scotty (James Doohan) from giving a 20^th-century scientist the formula for transparent aluminum, the engineer asks, “How do you know he didn’t invent the thing?” Star Trek logic is the best logic.

Stakes: A

The probe totally disables Starfleet and wreaks havoc on the earth, so Kirk definitely needs to find those whales.

Entertainment: A+

Nearly every time travel movie has scenes in which the protagonists bumble around their new setting. But the Enterprise crew has built up a lot of good will over 79 episodes and the three previous movies, which means that we take even greater pleasure in watching them acclimate to the 1980s. It’s all great fun, from Kirk finding his inner potty mouth to Chekov (Walter Koenig) looking for nuclear “wessels” to Spock (Nimoy) nerve-pinching a belligerent punk.

OVERALL GRADE: A

 

Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989, dir. Stephen Herek)

Facing failure in their history class and the end of their band Wyld Stallyns, soon-to-be legendary rockers Bill S. Preston Esq. (Alex Winter) and Ted “Theodore” Logan (Keanu Reeves) get an assist from the future when Rufus (George Carlin) arrives with a time machine, sending them on a quest to collect historical figures such as Billy the Kid (Dan Shor) and Socrates (Tony Steedman).

Device: A

Apparently, writers Solomon and Matheson originally had Bill and Ted riding around in a time van. When Back to the Future beat them to theaters, they changed it to a phone booth—unaware of its similarities to the TARDIS from Doctor Who. Accidental plagiarism aside, the phone booth is the perfect vehicle for two good-hearted party guys from Sam Dimas.

Rules: A

Bill and Ted can go anywhere they want in time, but the watch keeps ticking in their own time. How does that work? I don’t know, especially since they can always go back in time and revisit moments that apparently passed. Does it matter? No. Not at all.

Stakes: A

If Bill and Ted don’t pass their test, then they fail history class. If they fail history class, then Ted gets sent to military school in Alaska. If Ted gets sent to military school in Alaska, then the band Wyld Stallyns will break up. If Wyld Stallyns breaks up, they’ll never record their hit single. If they never record their hit single, then all of humanity will not come together across time and space to live in perfect harmony. So, yeah, pretty high stakes.

Entertainment: A

Trash can. Remember the trash can.

OVERALL GRADE: A

 

G.I. Samurai (1979, dir. Kōsei Saitō)

A platoon of soldiers led by Second Lieutenant Yoshiaki Iba (Sonny Chiba) finds itself transported back to 16^th-century Japan, where it joins up with legendary warrior Uesugi Kenshin (Isao Natsuyagi). And all of their modern weapons came with them.

Device: A

There’s no device at all. The soldiers go to a beach and then we’re bombarded by images of, uh, horses? It’s all pretty psychedelic, and then they’re in the past, which is the best way to show time travel.

Rules: A

Iba and his men live by one rule: if it moves, blow it up. Maybe not the most enlightened approach, but it works for a ‘70s exploitation flick.

Stakes: A

Inadvertently, the movie manages to make war seem small and insignificant. As important as the battles may seem when the warriors are in the thick of them, they are only historical footnotes in Iba’s time.

Entertainment: A

Saitō drenches a syrupy love score over a scene in which Iba shows Kenshin how to use the mounted gun on his tank. It’s as romantic as the first kiss in an epic love story.

OVERALL GRADE: A

 

The Terminator (1984, dir. James Cameron)

Caught in a standstill in their battle against the human resistance, the self-aware robots of Skynet send a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) back to murder Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) before the birth of her son John, who will grow up to lead the resistance.

Device: B

In this movie, the time platform is just a dark set. But it’s a pretty great effect when the Terminator and his human pursuer Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) arrive in the past in a bolt of lightning. Plus, there’s inherent comedy to watching the time travelers try to acclimate to the past while running around in their birthday suits.

Rules: B

It’s pretty simple: keep Sarah alive and the resistance continues. Kill Sarah and the resistance fails. Later movies will add more rules. A lot more rules.

Stakes: A

High! If the Terminator succeeds, then humanity dies.

Entertainment: A

It’s hard to divorce this movie from all the retconning mumbo-jumbo added by its many sequels (including the highly underrated Terminator: Dark Fate). But for this first movie, the time travel adds a little bit of flavor to what is ultimately a lean and efficient slasher film/action movie.

OVERALL GRADE: A-

 

Looper (2012, dir. Rian Johnson)

As a retired time-traveling assassin, Joe (Bruce Willis) gets to live in luxury until his younger self (Joseph Gordon Levitt) arrives to kill him, thus closing the loop. But when he decides he wants to live, Old Joe must go on the run from his Young Joe.

Device: B

It’s just a big iron bowl, which is a refreshingly industrial take on future technology.

Rules: A+

Old Joe tells Young Joe: “I don’t want to talk about time travel because if we start talking about it then we’re going to be here all day talking about it, making diagrams with straws.” This is the best possible way of discussing time travel.

Stakes: A

The movie is better when it keeps the stakes focused on Old Joe’s desire to spend more time with the woman he loves. As soon as it becomes about Joe’s plot to kill the boy who will become a supervillain called The Rainmaker, then the movie gets a little messy.

Entertainment: A

Levitt’s distracting prosthetics notwithstanding, Looper uses its story about two versions of the same man to make a powerful statement about the circular nature of violence. It’s a compelling blend of genre and metaphor.

OVERALL GRADE: A-

 

About Time (2013, dir. Richard Curtis)

Upon reaching adulthood, Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) learns that he, and all male members of his family, can go back to any point in their past. He uses that power to fall in love with Mary (Rachel McAdams) and spend quality time with his dad (Bill Nighy).

Device: B

To time travel, all Tim needs to do is find a dark place, close his eyes, and ball his fists. Not the most visually exciting thing in the world, but it is fun to watch him try to excuse himself when he’s in a tough spot.

Rules: B

As Tim learns the hard way, if he goes back past the point that one of his kids is born, then he’ll return to a different child. The movie too easily wipes away his first mistake, but this hard line does provide dramatic tension in the third act.

Stakes: A

Tim can screw things up for people by messing with their lives, but he eventually learns that it’s better to support his loved ones in the present. It’s kind of sweet, really.

Entertainment: A

Remember the Doctor Who episode “Vincent and the Doctor”? That episode was written by Curtis, so you have an idea of the blubbering mess this movie made out of me when I re-watched it last night.

OVERALL GRADE: B+

 

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006, dir. Mamoru Hosoda)

After falling on a walnut, 17-year-old Makoto (voiced by Riisa Naka) gains the ability to move through time by leaping in the air, which she promptly uses to excel at baseball and eat her favorite foods.

Device: B

It’s a walnut. Okay, that’s what gives Makoto the ability, but she travels by jumping, which makes for some pretty great moments when she tumbles into a new scene.

Rules: B

Makoto initially travels to any point in her life with impunity, but later she learns that her jumps are limited. The rule comes on as a late and clunky addition, but it does pave the way for a solid dramatic conclusion.

Stakes: B

Look, you might not think it’s a big deal to impress people with baseball skills and to avoid embarrassing situations. But to a teenager, that’s everything.

Entertainment: A

Not only is time travel beautifully visualized here, but Hosoda generates a laugh whenever Makoto restarts time to keep her best friend Chiaki (Takuya Ishida) from confessing his love for her.

OVERALL GRADE: B+

 

Avengers: Endgame (2019, dir. Joe and Anthony Russo)

Upon learning that the villainous Thanos (Josh Brolin) has destroyed the Infinity Gems he used to disintegrate half of all life in the universe, the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe revisit their previous adventures to retrieve the gems from the past and set things right.

Device: B+

The time platform itself isn’t that cool, nor are the Avengers’ time travel suits (just variations of Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man costume). But the way the machine combines the genius of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) with the quantum realm technology discovered by Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) makes the platform a treat for MCU fans.

Rules: B

The Avengers talk about not changing the past, and then they totally change the past. But you know what? It doesn’t matter. We’re going to get a Loki TV show out of this, which should make up for all of the online arguments about the ultimate fate of Steve Rogers/Captain America.

Stakes: B

This one’s kind of a toss-up. The first hour of the movie makes it clear that many survivors have begun to move on from the destruction Thanos wrought, and that it might even be better for the environment… Then again, Spider-Man (Tom Holland) seemed really, really sad when he disappeared, so I guess it’s good that he gets to come back.

Entertainment: A

Not only is the time heist a fun look back at MCU movies past, but it provides a genuinely moving moment when the depressed Thor (Chris Hemsworth) receives reassurance from his mother Frigga (Rene Russo).

OVERALL GRADE: B+

 

Back to the Future (1985, dir. Robert Zemeckis)

Teenager Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) accidentally goes back to 1955, where he accidentally meets his father (Crispin Glover), and accidentally earns the romantic adoration of his mother (Leah Thompson). To keep himself from being wiped from existence, Marty must team with the younger version of the time machine’s inventor, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), to bring his parents together and to return to 1985.

Device: A+

Look, I was 8 years old when this movie came out. The DeLorean was and still is the coolest time machine that will ever exist.

Rules: A

It’s pretty simple: if you go back in time and break up your parents, you won’t exist. Marty carries a picture of himself with his siblings, who gradually disappear the longer his parents stay apart. That’s a pretty cool visual, even if the logic of the slow fade isn’t completely clear.

Stakes: D

Perhaps the lowest stakes of any of these movies. If Marty’s parents don’t get together, then he and his siblings won’t exist. But maybe they’ll go on to parent other kids, kids who don’t hang out with mad scientists and don’t care if you call them a chicken.

Entertainment: A-

Back to the Future is mostly delightful. That said, it does have real thematic problems, which John Mulaney describes better than I can.

OVERALL GRADE: B

 

12 Monkeys (1995, dir. Terry Gilliam)

Desperate to change the past, leaders send criminal James Cole (Bruce Willis) through time to stop terrorist Jeffery Goines (Brad Pitt) before he brings about the apocalypse with his Army of the Twelve Monkeys.

Device: A

Gilliam loves to portray technology as ostentatious and dysfunctional, an aesthetic that he brings to the garish mess that sends Cole to the past.

Rules: A

The movie initially feels like a mess, completely devoid of time-travel rules. By the end of the film, Cole realizes that he cannot change anything and that time is immovable, resulting in a powerful mix of anarchy and determinism.

Stakes: F

Cole’s mission might be to save humanity, but the film’s vision of time as an immovable set of circumstances means that his decision does not matter at all.

Entertainment: A

Gilliam always takes a big swing, but he can’t always fit all his ideas into a single movie. The time travel conceit and the slow reveal of Cole’s powerlessness make 12 Monkeys both terrifying and beautiful, especially in its final moments.

OVERALL GRADE: B

 

Time After Time (1979, dir. Nicholas Meyer)

H.G. Wells vs. Jack the Ripper! In 1979! Star Trek II director Meyer offers an irresistible premise, with Wells (Malcolm McDowell) following Jack the Ripper (David Warner) to the future after the killer steals his time machine.

Device: A

Why, it’s H.G. Wells’s time machine, of course! Not only does it have a pleasing Victorian design, but the time machine works differently than other devices: Instead of moving forward, the time machine remains still while the world around it changes.

Rules: C

Only one: if the time machine is used without its key, the user will become unmoored from the machine and stranded. This rule drives the tension between Wells and Jack, up to the movie’s clunky finale.

Stakes: A

On the one hand, the stakes are no more than an infamous serial killer loose in 1979 San Francisco. But the real conflict is between warring worldviews. A progressive humanist, Wells thought that the future would be a socialist utopia. But Jack happily finds a future so filled with violence that it makes him look, as he puts it, “like an amateur.”

Entertainment: D

The setting lets Warner and McDowell debate progress in front of a color TV set, but way too much of the movie is devoted to the characters going to banks and exchanging their money.

OVERALL GRADE: B

 

Timecrimes (2007, dir. Nacho Vigalondo)

On the run from a masked slasher, Héctor (Karra Elejalde) finds shelter in a nearby laboratory, where the scientist on duty (Vigalondo) urges him to hide in a canister. Héctor finds himself transported 90 minutes into the past, where he learns more about the slasher and himself.

Device: C

The time machine here looks believably banal, like a piece of modern medical equipment filled with yellow goo.

Rules: C

No rules! Future Héctor could go home and potentially live with Past Héctor and his wife. If he could get over the jealousy.

Stakes: B

The scientist doesn’t want Héctor from the future to go back home, but only because he doesn’t want attention brought to his research facility. But Héctor doesn’t like the idea of his older self living his life for him.

Entertainment: B+

Timecrimes isn’t the most profound movie in the world, but the time travel aspect gives a looping quality to what is otherwise a satisfying thriller.

OVERALL GRADE: B-

 

Time Bandits (1981, dir. Terry Gilliam)

Young Kevin (Craig Warnock) falls in with a band of time-traveling thieves, on the run from both the Supreme Being (Ralph Richardson) and the Evil Genius (David Warner).

Device: B

The bandits travel through cracks in creation, using the map they stole from the Supreme Being. By itself, the map isn’t impressive, but the idea of cracks in creation is compelling.

Rules: C

The bandits seem to do whatever they want, but they can only stay so long before the Supreme Being or the Evil Genius shows up to take the map.

Stakes: C

Time Bandits is all over the place when it comes to stakes. The bandits’ actions are pretty benign; they just want treasure. But if the Evil Genius gets the map, then he can use it to recreate the world in the image of game shows and early ‘80s computers. But, then again, the Supreme Being is still the Supreme Being and seems to have everything under control. So, it’s a wash.

Entertainment: B

In the end, the movie just seems like an excuse for Monty Python alum Gilliam to do sketches based on history and myth. The idea of Robin Hood (John Cleese) as a brainless politician is pretty funny and Sean Connery makes a great Agamemnon, but Gilliam doesn’t quite land his bigger ideas about morality and divinity.

OVERALL GRADE: C+

 

Interstellar (2014, dir. Christopher Nolan)

On a mission to find a new planet habitable for humans, astronaut Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) experiences time differently than those on Earth, forcing him to find unique ways of communicating with his son (Casey Affleck) and daughter (Jessica Chastain).

Device: A

Cooper flies a spaceship and floats in a spacesuit, but it’s actually the theory of relativity that accounts for his time travel. That scientific theory drives a lot of time travel movies, but it’s used particularly well here.

Rules: C

Look, it’s a Christopher Nolan movie. People explain things in barely-audible dialogue. For some reason, Cooper can move books and watch hands, but he can’t just write out his messages with a sharpie.

Stakes: C

Corn is dying. I mean, everything on Earth is dying, but the movie’s very worried about that corn.

Entertainment: C

The movie wants the climax to be moving, and the cool visuals do help. But Nolan’s never been good at capturing naked emotion, and Interstellar is no exception. It feels like crying over a math equation, which, I suppose, some people do.

OVERALL GRADE: C+

 

Primer (2004, dir. Shane Carruth)

After accidentally creating a time machine, engineers Aaron (Carruth) and Abe (David Sullivan) go to great lengths to avoid destroying the time stream. Then, they destroy the time stream.

Device: B+

My favorite part of the movie is the design of the ugly time machine (aka “the box”). It’s exactly what a couple of down-on-their-luck tech bros would slap together as a prototype.

Rules: A+

So, so many rules. Primer pays painstaking attention to the rules of time travel. Diagrams, exposition, metaphors—this movie takes time to explain time.

Stakes: C+

The guys try not to let their alternate selves from other times ruin their lives. But the guys are kind of jerks, so we kind of want their lives ruined.

Entertainment: D

If you’ve ever complained that a time travel movie didn’t explain its rules well enough, then Primer is the movie for you. Some people like these explanations. Me, I just want an old man to hit his head on a toilet and invent the flux capacitor.

OVERALL GRADE: C

 

I know I missed some favorites here. What grades would Donnie Darko, Hot Tub Time Machine, or Aditya 369 earn? Do we really want more explanation in these movies with low grades? Or is sheer entertainment more important? Let me know what you think in the comments…

Joe George’s writing regularly appears at Bloody Disgusting and Think Christian. He collects his work at joewriteswords.com and tweets nonsense from @jageorgeii.

A nip in the air greeted us this morning and we instantly got our cozy on, prompting Lo to say to T, “I feel like going shopping for cute hoodies.” And thus it came to pass, the results being a perfectly Lorenzo-chic collection of cute, wearable, stylish hoodies to get you through all your pumpkin-spiced socially distanced needs. Banish any thoughts of plain activewear or utilitarian styles for that is not the way of Lo. No, these are the kind of hoodies that actually work to encuten anything else you’re wearing. The styles are broad, the prices are reasonable and the results are — did we say “cute” yet? Let’s go shopping, kittens!

 

 

Betsey Johnson Tasseled Kimono Sleeve Hoodie

 

Chaser Vintage Stripe Crop High/Low Pullover Hoodie

 

Z By Zella Serena Slouch Drawstring Hoodie

 

THREAD AND SUPPLY Faux Shearling Pullover Sweater

 

MARC NEW YORK PERFORMANCE Marble French Terry Hoodie

 

Unionbay Sunset Tie Dye Rory Hoodie

 

Madewell Sunny Hoodie Sweatshirt

 

Zella Cassie Faux Shearling Hoodie

 

Rachel Rachel Roy Varsity Side Stripe Hoodie

 

PJ SALVAGE Retro Revive Embroidered Lounge Hoodie

 

Alternative Adrian Print Zip Hoodie

 

Theo and Spence Paint Splatter Ribbed Knit Hoodie

 

DKNY Colorblock Printed Hoodie

 

Marika Zip Front Hoodie

 

Lush Popcorn Texture Knit Hoodie

 

Theo and Spence Tie Dye V-Neck Hoodie

 

Heartloom Stripe Sleeve Drawstring Hoodie

 

JAG Jeans Cindy Henley Hoodie

 

Wit & Wisdom Ribbed Knit Drawstring Hoodie

 

90 Degree By Reflex Butter Hoodie Jacket

 

Alternative Eco-Teddy Flared Printed Pullover Sweater

 

90 Degree By Reflex Cold Gear Hooded Heathered Sweatshirt

 

Workshop Striped Brushed Knit Pullover Hoodie

 

Marika Sonoma Cardigan

 

Z By Zella Genevieve Washed Print Crop Hoodie

 

 

As always, the retail links on this site are affiliate links, which means any shopping you do through these links gives your ol’ pals T Lo a weensy cut off the top. So thank you for helping keep the lights on, darlings!

 

[Photo Credit: norstromrack.com]

• Lorenzo’s Picks

The post Social Distancing Chic: Lorenzo’s Picks for the Cutest, Comfiest, Most Stylish Hoodies appeared first on Tom + Lorenzo.

Regina King is heading to Netflix to join the cast of The Harder They Fall starring Idris Elba and Jonathan Majors.

According to Variety, Academy Award winner Regina King is the latest star to join the cast of Netflix’s forthcoming western film, The Harder They Fall

Produced by Jay-Z, the upcoming western centers on Nat Love— an outlaw who, upon discovering that Rufus Buck (the man who killed his parents 20 years ago) is being released from prison, decides to round up his old gang in an effort to track the man down and get revenge.

Majors and Elba will play Nat Love and Rufus Buck, respectively. Currently, there’s no word with regards to who King will portray in the forthcoming film.

Others who’ve also recently been cast in the upcoming western include Zazie Beetz (Atlanta, Deadpool 2), Lakeith Stanfield (Atlanta, Knives Out , Edi Gathegi (Twilight, X-Men: First Class), Danielle Deadwiler (Atlanta, Watchmen), and RJ Cyler (Power Rangers, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl).

Behind the camera, British musician Jeymes Samuel (better known by his stage name The Bullitts) will serve as director on The Harder They Fall.

The Harder They Fall serves as a bit of a reunion for Samuel and Jay-Z. The pair previously collaborated on the soundtrack for The Great Gatsby. They’ll be hitting the studio again for the Netflix western, for which they’ll be writing and producing original music.

Meanwhile, Samuel and Boaz Yakin will serve as screenwriters on the film.

Other producers on the project include James Lassiter and Lawrence Bender.

Netflix has yet to set a release date for The Harder They Fall.

The post Regina King joining Idris Elba in Netflix western, ‘The Harder They Fall’ appeared first on Hypable.

Quirky comic institution The Far Side has very quietly returned as a full color irregular online series. Nerds, cows, bears, cavemen, Boy Scouts, old ladies, and aliens are back to the old drawing board, which creator Gary Larson notes is now digitized:

I don’t want to mislead anyone here. This corner of the website—“New Stuff”—is not a resurrection of The Far Side daily cartoons. (Well, not exactly, anyway—like the proverbial tiger and its stripes, I’m pretty much stuck with my sense of humor. Aren’t we all?) The thing is, I thoroughly enjoyed my career as a syndicated cartoonist, and I hope, in spirit at least, we had some laughs together. But after fifteen years of meeting deadlines, well, blah blah blah … you know the rest. The day after I retired from syndication, it felt good not to draw on a deadline. And after moving on to other interests, drawing just wasn’t on my to-do list.

Gary added:

The “New Stuff” that you’ll see here is the result of my journey into the world of digital art. Believe me, this has been a bit of a learning curve for me. I hail from a world of pen and ink, and suddenly I was feeling like I was sitting at the controls of a 747. (True, I don’t get out much.) But as overwhelmed as I was, there was still something familiar there—a sense of adventure. That had always been at the core of what I enjoyed most when I was drawing The Far Side, that sense of exploring, reaching for something, taking some risks, sometimes hitting a home run and sometimes coming up with “Cow tools.” (Let’s not get into that.) But as a jazz teacher once said to me about improvisation, “You want to try and take people somewhere where they might not have been before.” I think that my approach to cartooning was similar—I’m just not sure if even I knew where I was going. But I was having fun.

So if you're ready, enter as if you're going through the door of...

Do you wonder if that can of oil from months ago may still be used? Is it safe to use the stocks if they've expired already, even if they still taste and smell fine? This article from the New York Times tries to shed light in this matter.

Here’s the first thing you should know: Expiration dates are not expiration dates.

Food product dating, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture calls it, is completely voluntary for all products (with the exception of baby food, more on that later). Not only that, but it has nothing to do with safety. It acts solely as the manufacturer’s best guess as to when its product will no longer be at peak quality, whatever that means. Food manufacturers also tend to be rather conservative with those dates, knowing that not all of us keep our pantries dark and open our refrigerators as minimally as necessary. (I, for one, would never leave the fridge door open for minutes at a time as I contemplate what to snack on.)

Then the article proceeds to give a guide on how certain foods may last,

Let’s start with the things you definitely don’t have to worry about. Vinegars, honey, vanilla or other extracts, sugar, salt, corn syrup and molasses will last virtually forever with little change in quality. Regular steel-cut or rolled oats will last for a year or so before they start to go rancid, but parcooked oats (or instant oats) can last nearly forever. (Same with grits versus instant grits.)

Illustration by Jonathan Carlson

**Spoiler Alert: One of the photos in this post is considered a spoiler, especially for non-readers.  Proceed at your own spoiler risk.**

Below are the official photos from the eighth episode of the fifth season of Outlander, episode 508, “Famous Last Words.”

Characters that can be seen in these photos include Jamie (Sam Heughan), Claire (Caitriona Balfe), Brianna (Sophie Skelton), Roger (Richard Rankin), Lord John Grey (David Berry), Jocasta (Maria Doyle Kennedy), and Ulysses (Colin McFarlane).

Update (4/12/2020): Two more photos added.

Update (4/13/2020): Eight more photos added with the additional characters of Ian (John Bell) and Rollo.

Synopsis: “The Frasers must come to terms with all that has changed in the aftermath of the Battle of Alamance Creek. An unexpected visitor arrives at the Ridge.”

This episode airs this Sunday, April 12, 2020, at 8 PM ET on Starz.

 

Source: Starz

Voting for the 2020 Hugo Awards opens later this month, so it’s time to get your To Be Read stack in order! You can find the full list of finalists below, along with links to any excerpts, previews, full texts, issues, and clips that can be found for free online.

 

2020 Hugo Award Finalists

Best Novel

• The City in the Middle of the Night, by Charlie Jane Anders (Tor; Titan)
  • Excerpt on Tor.com
• Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir (Tor.com Publishing)
  • Chapters 1-8 on Tor.com
• The Light Brigade, by Kameron Hurley (Saga; Angry Robot UK)
  • Excerpt in Lightspeed 
• A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine (Tor; Tor UK)
  • Prologue and Chapter One on Tor.com
• Middlegame, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
  • Chapters 1-5 and an Audio Excerpt on Tor.com
• The Ten Thousand Doors of January, by Alix E. Harrow (Redhook; Orbit UK)
  • First 50 pages from Orbit Books

Best Novella

• “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom”, by Ted Chiang (Exhalation (Borzoi/Alfred A. Knopf; Picador)
  • “Exhalation” from Exhalation in Lightspeed
• The Deep, by Rivers Solomon, with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson & Jonathan Snipes (Saga Press/Gallery)
  • Audio excerpt on Soundcloud
• The Haunting of Tram Car 015, by P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com Publishing)
  • Excerpt on Tor.com
• In an Absent Dream, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
  • First Two Chapters on Tor.com
• This Is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (Saga Press; Jo Fletcher Books)
  • Excerpt from Simon & Schuster
• To Be Taught, If Fortunate, by Becky Chambers (Harper Voyager; Hodder & Stoughton)
  • Text and Audio Excerpt from HarperCollins

Best Novelette

•  “The Archronology of Love”, by Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed, April 2019)
  • Full novelette in Lightspeed
• “Away With the Wolves”, by Sarah Gailey (Uncanny Magazine: Disabled People Destroy Fantasy Special Issue, September/October 2019)
  • Full novelette in Uncanny Magazine
• “The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye”, by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny Magazine, July-August 2019)
  • Full novelette in Uncanny Magazine
• Emergency Skin, by N.K. Jemisin (Forward Collection (Amazon))
  • Excerpt on Amazon; Prime members read for free 
• “For He Can Creep”, by Siobhan Carroll (Tor.com, 10 July 2019)
  • Full novelette on Tor.com
• “Omphalos”, by Ted Chiang (Exhalation (Borzoi/Alfred A. Knopf; Picador))
  • “Exhalation” from Exhalation in Lightspeed

Best Short Story

• “And Now His Lordship Is Laughing”, by Shiv Ramdas (Strange Horizons, 9 September 2019)
  • Full short story in Strange Horizons
• “As the Last I May Know”, by S.L. Huang (Tor.com, 23 October 2019)
  • Full short story on Tor.com
• “Blood Is Another Word for Hunger”, by Rivers Solomon (Tor.com, 24 July 2019)
  • Full short story on Tor.com
• “A Catalog of Storms”, by Fran Wilde (Uncanny Magazine, January/February 2019)
  • Full short story on Tor.com
• “Do Not Look Back, My Lion”, by Alix E. Harrow (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, January 2019)
  • Full short story in Beneath Ceaseless Skies 
• “Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island”, by Nibedita Sen (Nightmare Magazine, May 2019)
  • Full short story in Nightmare Magazine 

Best Series

• The Expanse, by James S. A. Corey (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
  • Excerpt from Leviathan Wakes
  • Excerpt from Caliban’s War
  • Excerpt from Abaddon’s Gate
  • Excerpt from Cibola Burn
  • Excerpt from Nemesis Games
  • Excerpt from Babylon’s Ashes
  • Excerpt from Persepolis Rising
  • Excerpt from Tiamat’s Wrath 
• InCryptid, by Seanan McGuire (DAW)
  • Excerpt from Discount Armageddon
  • Excerpt from Midnight Blue-Light Special
  • Excerpt from Half-Off Ragnarok
  • Excerpt from Pocket Apocalypse
  • Excerpt from Chaos Choreography
  • Excerpt from Magic for Nothing
  • Excerpt from Tricks for Free
• Luna, by Ian McDonald (Tor; Gollancz)
  • Excerpt from Luna: New Moon
  • Excerpt from Luna: Wolf Moon
  • Excerpt from Luna: Moon Rising
  • Full prequel novelette The Fifth Dragon 
• Planetfall series, by Emma Newman (Ace; Gollancz)
  • Excerpt from Planetfall
  • Excerpt from After Atlas
  • Excerpt from Before Mars
  • Excerpt from Atlas Alone 
• Winternight Trilogy, by Katherine Arden (Del Rey; Del Rey UK)
  • Excerpt from The Bear and the Nightingale
  • Excerpt from The Girl in the Tower
  • Excerpt from The Winter of the Witch 
• The Wormwood Trilogy, by Tade Thompson (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
  • Excerpt from Rosewater
  • Excerpt from The Rosewater Insurrection
  • Excerpt from The Rosewater Redemption 

Best Related Work

• Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood, by J. Michael Straczynski (Harper Voyager US)
  • Excerpt on Amazon and Audio Excerpt from HarperCollins
• Joanna Russ, by Gwyneth Jones (University of Illinois Press (Modern Masters of Science Fiction))
  • Excerpt on Amazon and Joanna Russ Reading Guide by the author
• The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick, by Mallory O’Meara (Hanover Square)
  • Excerpt from Entertainment Weekly
• The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein, by Farah Mendlesohn (Unbound)
  • Excerpt on Amazon
• “2019 John W. Campbell Award Acceptance Speech”, by Jeannette Ng
  • Full text on Medium and video from Worldcon 2019
• Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin, produced and directed by Arwen Curry
  • Trailer and film link on PBS

Best Graphic Story or Comic

• Die, Volume 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker, by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, letters by Clayton Cowles (Image)
  • First issue of Die from Image Comics
• LaGuardia, written by Nnedi Okorafor, art by Tana Ford, colours by James Devlin (Berger Books; Dark Horse)
  • Excerpt from Penguin Random House
• Monstress, Volume 4: The Chosen, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda (Image)
  • First issue of Monstress from Image Comics
• Mooncakes, by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker, letters by Joamette Gil (Oni Press; Lion Forge)
  • Trailer and preview from Lion Forge Comics
• Paper Girls, Volume 6, written by Brian K. Vaughan, drawn by Cliff Chiang, colours by Matt Wilson, letters by Jared K. Fletcher (Image)
  • First issue of Paper Girls from Image Comics
• The Wicked + The Divine, Volume 9: Okay, by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, colours by Matt Wilson, letters by Clayton Cowles (Image)
  • First issue of The Wicked + The Divine from Image Comics

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

• Avengers: Endgame, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (Marvel Studios)
  • Trailer
• Captain Marvel, screenplay by Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Walt Disney Pictures/Marvel Studios/Animal Logic (Australia))
  • Trailer
• Good Omens, written by Neil Gaiman, directed by Douglas Mackinnon (Amazon Studios/BBC Studios/Narrativia/The Blank Corporation)
  • Trailer
• Russian Doll (Season One), created by Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler, directed by Leslye Headland, Jamie Babbit and Natasha Lyonne (3 Arts Entertainment/Jax Media/Netflix/Paper Kite Productions/Universal Television)
  • Trailer
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, screenplay by Chris Terrio and J.J. Abrams, directed by J.J. Abrams (Walt Disney Pictures/Lucasfilm/Bad Robot)
  • Trailer
• Us, written and directed by Jordan Peele (Monkeypaw Productions/Universal Pictures)
  • Trailer

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

• The Good Place: “The Answer”, written by Daniel Schofield, directed by Valeria Migliassi Collins (Fremulon/3 Arts Entertainment/Universal Television)
  • Trailer
• The Expanse: “Cibola Burn”, written by Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck and Naren Shankar, directed by Breck Eisner (Amazon Prime Video)
  • Trailer
• Watchmen: “A God Walks into Abar”, written by Jeff Jensen and Damon Lindelof, directed by Nicole Kassell (HBO)
  • Trailer
• The Mandalorian: “Redemption”, written by Jon Favreau, directed by Taika Waititi (Disney+)
  • Trailer
• Doctor Who: “Resolution”, written by Chris Chibnall, directed by Wayne Yip (BBC)
  • Trailer
• Watchmen: “This Extraordinary Being”, written by Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson, directed by Stephen Williams (HBO)
  • Trailer

Best Editor, Short Form

• Neil Clarke
• Ellen Datlow
• C.C. Finlay
• Jonathan Strahan
• Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
• Sheila Williams

Best Editor, Long Form

• Sheila E. Gilbert
• Brit Hvide
• Diana M. Pho
• Devi Pillai
• Miriam Weinberg
• Navah Wolfe

Best Professional Artist

• Tommy Arnold
• Rovina Cai
• Galen Dara
• John Picacio
• Yuko Shimizu
• Alyssa Winans

Best Semiprozine

• Beneath Ceaseless Skies, editor Scott H. Andrews
• Escape Pod, editors Mur Lafferty and S.B. Divya, assistant editor Benjamin C. Kinney, audio producers Adam Pracht and Summer Brooks, hosts Tina Connolly and Alasdair Stuart
• Fireside Magazine, editor Julia Rios, managing editor Elsa Sjunneson, copyeditor Chelle Parker, social coordinator Meg Frank, publisher & art director Pablo Defendini, founding editor Brian White
• FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, executive editor Troy L. Wiggins, editors Eboni Dunbar, Brent Lambert, L.D. Lewis, Danny Lore, Brandon O’Brien and Kaleb Russell
• Strange Horizons, Vanessa Rose Phin, Catherine Krahe, AJ Odasso, Dan Hartland, Joyce Chng, Dante Luiz and the Strange Horizons staff
• Uncanny Magazine, editors-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, nonfiction/managing editor Michi Trota, managing editor Chimedum Ohaegbu, podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky

Best Fanzine

• The Book Smugglers, editors Ana Grilo and Thea James
• Galactic Journey, founder Gideon Marcus, editor Janice Marcus, senior writers Rosemary Benton, Lorelei Marcus and Victoria Silverwolf
• Journey Planet, editors James Bacon, Christopher J Garcia, Alissa McKersie, Ann Gry, Chuck Serface, John Coxon and Steven H Silver
• nerds of a feather, flock together, editors Adri Joy, Joe Sherry, Vance Kotrla, and The G
• Quick Sip Reviews, editor Charles Payseur
• The Rec Center, editors Elizabeth Minkel and Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Best Fancast

• Be The Serpent, presented by Alexandra Rowland, Freya Marske and Jennifer Mace
• Claire Rousseau’s YouTube channel, produced & presented by Claire Rousseau
• The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
• Galactic Suburbia, presented by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce and Tansy Rayner Roberts, producer Andrew Finch
• Our Opinions Are Correct, presented by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders
• The Skiffy and Fanty Show, presented by Jen Zink and Shaun Duke

Best Fan Writer

• Cora Buhlert
• James Davis Nicoll
• Alasdair Stuart
• Bogi Takács
• Paul Weimer
• Adam Whitehead

Best Fan Artist

• Iain Clark
• Sara Felix
• Grace P. Fong
• Meg Frank
• Ariela Housman
• Elise Matthesen

Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book

• Catfishing on CatNet, by Naomi Kritzer (Tor Teen)
  • Excerpt on Tor.com
• Deeplight, by Frances Hardinge (Macmillan)
  • Excerpt on Kobo
• Dragon Pearl, by Yoon Ha Lee (Disney/Hyperion)
  • Excerpt on Tor.com
• Minor Mage, by T. Kingfisher (Argyll)
  • Excerpt on Amazon
• Riverland, by Fran Wilde (Amulet)
  • Excerpt from Barnes and Noble
• The Wicked King, by Holly Black (Little, Brown; Hot Key)
  • Excerpt in Entertainment Weekly

Astounding Award for the Best New Science Fiction Writer, sponsored by Dell Magazines

• Sam Hawke (2nd year of eligibility)
• R.F. Kuang (2nd year of eligibility)
• Jenn Lyons (1st year of eligibility)
• Nibedita Sen (2nd year of eligibility)
• Tasha Suri (2nd year of eligibility)
• Emily Tesh (1st year of eligibility)

I’m really enjoying Lukas Volger’s new cookbook, Start Simple: Eleven Everyday Ingredients for Countless Weeknight Meals. It came out two months ago, a positively bizarre time in which we entered and left our homes with abandon, casually hugged friends we were happy to see, and if our nose became itchy, we’d scratch it and not stand paralyzed in panic afterward. What salad days! Volger’s new book wasn’t created with pandemic cooking in mind — what was, really — but it feels just right for right now because each chapter focuses on a staple our local store is miraculously not out of (tofu, tortillas, beans, greens, squash, and more), and the recipes have refreshingly short ingredient lists and unfussy assemblies. Volger’s vegetarian cooking is very doable, the kind of do-ability that comes from the fact that this is clearly the food he cooks for himself at home, so all of the kinks are smoothed out. Everything sounds so good — smoky chickpea salad with olives and lemon and black beans with scallion-lime vinaigrette from the bean section are on my shortlist — you might find yourself wondering why this unwavering simplicity isn’t the goal of every cookbook.

Read more »

Even though they were legally permitted to stay open, the company made the call to close for the safety of their team, community, and customers. READ MORE...

Sugar buns, better-than-Starbucks pumpkin bread, and more to keep you busy and make your house smell good. READ MORE...

There are so many other looks to get to from this weekend – not just the after-parties, but all that pre-partying during the Independent Spirit Awards – that it’s time for us to put our exhaustive (and exhausting) 2020 Academy Awards coverage to bed, well and fully judged and assessed. In that vein, we kindly ask the remaining celebrities to line up to make this easier on us.

 

Beanie Feldstein in Miu Miu

A beaded black-on-white floral is different enough for the Oscars red carpet to be notable, but we don’t love the pattern and we really don’t like the neckline and straps.

 

 

Kang-Ho Song, Lee Sun Gyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Park So-dam, Bong Joon-ho, Park Myung-hoon, Lee Jeong-eun, Jang Hye-jin and Choi Woo-shik

They all look like winners. Cho Yeo-jeong’s top half is an unfortunate color. She’d have been so much better if that bodice was white. Park So-dam’s dress stands out for the color and the fringed tiered effect, but Lee Jeong-eun’s dark blue was lovely too.

 

 

Chrissy Metz in Christian Siriano

This is pretty enough, but when she sang onstage she wore an uncharacteristic (for her) open neckline with cleavage and it looked so much better on her than this sort of bodice, which is the kind she most often prefers. Let your girls out, girl!

 

 

Geena Davis in Romona Keveža

Hate the neckline, but that dark pewter looks great. We haven’t changed our minds on sheer skirts, but damn if she isn’t working that one.

 

 

Greta Gerwig in Dior

We appreciate the subdued and slightly unusual color of the gown, but it clashes with the necklace and we just want to pretend we don’t see the fringe at the hem.

 

 

Idina Menzel in J. Mendel

She certainly doesn’t look bad in this but it felt very stale to us. The necklace is beautiful, but the hip bow can go.

 

 

 

Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Vera Wang

Hands down our favorite necklace of the night – on a night where there was some serious neck jewel action happening. The dress is simple, but it’s perfectly rendered, which is all that necklace needs.

 

 

Kaitlyn Dever in Louis Vuitton

She’s way too young to be dressing like the hottest new star of 1960. This does nothing for her.

 

 

Kathy Bates in Giorgio Armani

The jacket is spectacular and we love the hair, makeup and jewelry. If we could make one change, we’d have suggested a shoe with a little more visual oomph.

 

 

Kelly Marie Tran in Schiaparelli Couture

We really don’t like the print at the bustline, which looks a little like a bathing suit textile, but we love the unusual shape of the skirt.

 

 

Lucy Boynton in Chanel

This is appealing in that “Victorian Horror Story” sort of way that suits her so well, but the longer we look at it, the more we think a much simpler skirt would have benefitted the overall design.

 

 

Margaret Qualley in Chanel Couture

She’s been slowly figuring it out over awards season, and while we think this dress is just a bit underwhelming, she looks polished and she should make halter necklines one of her go-tos.

 

 

Mindy Kaling in Dolce&Gabbana

We really wish she hadn’t opted for D&G but we have to begrudgingly admit that they certainly did right by her. This might be a personal best.

 

 

Penélope Cruz in Chanel

We’re sorry to say we really hated this. She usually has such good instincts and opts for safe elegance more often than not, but this looks a bit too craftsy and a bit too “dressmaker.” Pearls and the camellia are both signature Chanel motifs but we don’t think we’ve ever seen them so awkwardly deployed by the house.

 

 

Rebel Wilson in Jason Wu

Literally the best dress she’s ever worn.

 

 

Sigourney Weaver in Dior

A spectacular color, shape and style for her. We just can’t love the rope sash, though.

And that’s a wrap for the 2020 Oscars red carpet, darlings! If we didn’t cover your favorite celebs, it’s probably because we made a vow not to after that time they tried to frame us for murder. Onward to the Oscar-adjacent red carpets! After a brief nap.

 

[Photo Credit: ABC/RICK ROWELL, INSTARImages]

Our book “Legendary Children: The First Decade of RuPaul’s Drag Race and the Last Century of Queer Life” comes out on March 3rd and was named one of the Best New Books of 2020 by Cosmopolitan!

• Beanie Feldstein
• Bong Joon-ho
• Chanel
• Chanel Couture
• Cho Yeo-jeong
• Choi Woo-shik
• Chrissy Metz
• Christia Dior
• Christian Siriano
• Dior
• Dolce&Gabbana
• Geena Davis
• Giorgio Armani
• Greta Gerwig
• Idina Menzel
• J. Mendel
• Jang Hye-jin
• Jason Wu
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus
• Kaitlyn Dever
• Kang-Ho Song
• Kathy Bates
• Kelly Marie Tran
• Lee Jeong-eun
• Lee Sun Gyun
• Louis Vuitton
• Lucy Boynton
• Margaret Qualley
• Mindy Kaling
• Miu Miu
• Oscars
• Oscars 2020
• Park Myung-hoon
• Park So-dam
• Penelope Cruz
• Rebel Wilson
• Red Carpet
• Romona Keveža
• Rundown
• Schiaparelli
• Schiaparelli Couture
• Sigourney Weaver
• Vera Wang

The post Oscars 2020 Red Carpet Rundown appeared first on Tom + Lorenzo.

Because ATTENTION MUST BE PAID, PEASANTS. The King AND the Queen of the prom has arrived.

 

 

 

 

 

The gown is inspired by and uses motifs found in the Cupola Room of Kensington Palace because of course it does. It would be very much like Mr. Porter to deliberately choose such a gown in order to cement his bona fides as, and relationship to true royalty. THE CATEGORY IS… ROYAL REALNESS. And that’s all great and we think we are fully in love with the bodice. But the skirt is honestly kind of ugly, as are the shoes. This is a truly bold and unforgettable look and, as always, we support Billy’s mission and the way he’s carrying it out. But he’s almost always at his best when his boundary-pushing, paradigm-shattering style choices stay on the the fashion side of the line, as opposed to what’s on the other side of it: spectacle.

 

 

 

The Cupola Room is among the most opulently decorated rooms at #KensingtonPalace and was the vision of early C18th artist William Kent. Here you can see the Roman detail that inspired @gilesgilesgiles’s spectacular gown worn by @theebillyporter at last night’s #Oscars. pic.twitter.com/jAdKIOLiiB

— Historic Royal Palaces (@HRP_palaces) February 10, 2020

Style Credits:
– Custom Giles Deacon Couture‘Cupola’ Gown Featuring a Gold Metallic Feather Top and Printed Skirt
– Atelier Swarovski Jewelry
– Custom Jimmy Choo Platform Boots

Styled by Sam Ratelle | Grooming by Anna Bernabe

 

[Photo Credit: ABC/RICK ROWELL, INSTARImages, JENNIFER GRAYLOCK/INSTARimages.com, AdMedia/Media Punch/INSTARimages]

 

Our book “Legendary Children: The First Decade of RuPaul’s Drag Race and the Last Century of Queer Life” comes out on March 3rd and was named one of the Best New Books of 2020 by Cosmopolitan!

• Atelier Swarovski
• Billy Porter
• Giles Deacon
• Giles Deacon Couture
• Jimmy Choo
• Oscars
• Oscars 2020
• Red Carpet
• Sam Ratelle

The post Oscars 2020: Billy Porter in Giles Deacon Couture appeared first on Tom + Lorenzo.

Kittens, it’s the morning after Oscar night, which means we are about to embark on our Number One busiest day of the year (after a brief catnap in recovery from the busiest night of our year). We’re cracking our knuckles, chugging our coffee, and doing our stretches – not all at the same time. So while we limber up and let the caffeine hit our bloodstreams, we’re going to let the Blogger’s Best Friend Janelle Monae do the heavy lifting of getting this day started.

 

Bow down to your queer space wizard. If this isn’t our Best of the Night, it came damn close.

The reason we call her the Blogger’s Best Friend is because Miss Thing never fails to wear something so spectacular, so jaw-dropping, so unlike anything else on that red carpet, that all we have to really do is slap up some pictures, sit back, and let her fabulousness do all the work for us.

And speaking of work: from Ralph Lauren’s Instagram: “The shimmering, fully embellished silhouette required more than 600 hours of expert hand-embroidery to adorn 168,000 crystals over lacquered silk lamé tulle.” We’re exhausted just thinking about that.

 

 

Style Credits:
– Custom Ralph Lauren Gown Studded with Dégradé Crystals Featuring a Draped Hood and Open Portrait Back to the Sculptural Skirt in Lacquered Silk Lamé
– Forevermark ‘Lace of Light’ Diamond Choker, Rings and Studs

Styled by Alexandra Mandelkorn | Hair by Nikki Nelms | Makeup by Jessica Smalls | Nails by Sreynin Peng

 

[Photo Credit: ABC/RICK ROWELL, INSTARImages]

Our book “Legendary Children: The First Decade of RuPaul’s Drag Race and the Last Century of Queer Life” comes out on March 3rd and was named one of the Best New Books of 2020 by Cosmopolitan!

• Alexandra Mandelkorn
• Forevermark
• Janelle Monáe
• Oscars
• Oscars 2020
• Ralph Lauren
• Red Carpet

The post Oscars 2020: Janelle Monáe in Ralph Lauren appeared first on Tom + Lorenzo.

We’re calling it now to end the raging suspense so many of you – not to mention all of Hollywood itself – are feeling right now:

 

T Lo’s Official Oscars 2020 Pick for Best of the Night, hands down.

If we had to be super-quibble-acious about it, we might suggest that the irregular bustline and strap are not our favorite elements here, but we’d also be required to follow that up with the observation that they give the dress its one true shot of modernity and freshness. Everything about this look says Oscar-Winning Actress. It reeks of both prestige and world-class glamour at the same time. The soft pink is gorgeous on her and her hair and makeup rise to the occasion. Just perfect all around.

 

Style Credits:
-Custom Atelier Versace Peach-toned Silk Dress with a Swarovski-crystal Hand-embroidered Asymmetric Bodice
– Harry Winston Draperie Diamond Bracelet, Carpet Diamond Ring, Sparkling Cluster Diamond Ring, 2.34 carats, set in platinum and Crossover Diamond Ring
– Stuart Weitzman Shoes

Styled by Wayman + Micah | Hair by Larry Sims | Makeup by Latrice Johnson

 

[Photo Credit: ABC/RICK ROWELL, INSTARImages, AdMedia/Media Punch/INSTARimages]

 

Our book “Legendary Children: The First Decade of RuPaul’s Drag Race and the Last Century of Queer Life” comes out on March 3rd and was named one of the Best New Books of 2020 by Cosmopolitan!

• Atelier Versace
• Harry Winston
• Oscars
• Oscars 2020
• Red Carpet
• Regina King
• Stuart Weitzman
• Versace
• Wayman + Micah

The post Oscars 2020: Regina King in Atelier Versace appeared first on Tom + Lorenzo.