Entertainment

Following its victory at Sundance’s U.S. Special Dramatic Jury Award, the movie appeared destined for accolades. Searchlight planned a December 2023 release during the peak Oscar season, with Majors — who was also gaining popularity as Kang the Conqueror in Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania — as their primary awards contender, seemingly a lock for a Best Actor nomination. However, Majors was arrested on domestic violence charges in March of that year, including choking his girlfriend Grace Jabbari. This led to him being dropped by his management team, terminated by Marvel (from the Phase 5 Avengers franchise), and convicted of assault and harassment. A lawsuit for defamation followed, with Jabbari; the suit was eventually settled. In January 2024, Searchlight returned the rights of Magazine Dreams to its filmmakers, hinting that a Majors-led project may have been too controversial to release, particularly for Disney’s art-house division.

As a fan who hasn’t yet delved into Robert Jordan’s source material, I’ve heard from others that it’s the sheer abundance of events, characters, cultures, and locations that make it so appealing. It seems like there’s always something happening, with numerous quests being pursued by various individuals across diverse landscapes. If you share my penchant for intricate fantasy worlds (which I certainly do!), then this abundance can be a thrilling experience.

I get why the show adopts this approach as its foundation. However, it’s refreshing when “The Wheel of Time” takes a moment to… well, not to smell the roses, but more like pause for some respite amidst the thorny challenges that the characters face. But on this show, instead of pausing for tranquility, it feels like they force the characters to confront even more difficulties or hardships.

In the penultimate episode, a significant portion is dedicated to a side mission in Los Angeles, which is a fresh addition to the series. With Reacher’s cover exposed, both he and Duffy find themselves in need of an alternative way to keep tracking Beck and Quinn long enough to save Teresa Daniel. Teresa is an informant and recovering addict whom Duffy coerced into working as a secretary at Bizarre Bazaar, a business linked to West Coast drug lord Darien Prado. Although it was Duffy who traced Quinn due to her surveillance of Prado, leading to her involvement with Reacher (who happened to run into the man he believed he killed 13 years ago on the street), it’s Reacher who recalls this chain of events and proposes they visit Prado.

Wyle notes that what you’re observing is the point where the water nearly submerges him. He’s close to drowning, so to speak. We’ve shared the first ten episodes with the press. Everyone seems to be finding this journey enjoyable. However, I alone am aware that we’re steering this train towards a precipice.

It appears that their relationship might not be as genuine as it seems. One might wonder if they’re only pretending to be in love for personal gain or favor, but it’s more likely that Jesse is the root of their questionable behavior. For instance, observe how he interacts with Ciara; his flirtatiousness towards her mirrors his behavior with other women, such as when he buried Gabby’s head in his shirt. However, he seems to be most forward with Ciara because they appear to be the closest. Before the pirate party, Jesse was on a float with Ciara, and she put her leg on his, and he joked about being turned on by the situation. Later, he rolled over and got very close to her, which could have been a joke due to him getting out of the pool and possibly wetting her, but it feels reminiscent of the sitcom “Too Close for Comfort.” (If you recognize that reference, you are now eligible for Social Security while it’s still around.)

In this episode, I believe the tribe swap didn’t quite work out as intended. The original tribe of three was merged with two larger tribes of six each, creating three new tribes of five members. This arrangement seems logical for challenge purposes. However, tonight’s events have sparked discussions about the future of Survivor 50. You can visit Jeff’s complex website to voice your opinion on potential developments, including whether there should be another tribe swap and, more importantly, how it could be different this time. While I don’t object to a tribe swap, after 50 seasons, wouldn’t it be exciting to introduce some new twists?

Following a long-standing dispute filled with extortion and negotiations on both ends, Miles and Abbott eventually formed an agreement that enabled them to coexist peacefully. This secret pact not only provided Abbott with state-of-the-art computers, an elegant scoreboard, comfortable bean bags for the library, and numerous other perks, but it also gave Ava the opportunity to secure better resources for other schools during the district budget discussion. However, even though this sounds ideal in a sitcom setting, the show Abbott remains grounded in reality. In the real world, a public school wouldn’t be able to pull off such a deal without raising eyebrows. The signs of impending doom started appearing towards the end of the district budget meeting when Ava’s rival, Crystal, began to suspect why Abbott was so generously turning down the allocated funds.

As a passionate cinephile, I’ve been eagerly waiting for the release of “Snow White.” Now that the review embargo has been lifted, there’s a flood of opinions that feels like the Nile in full spate! Most critics seem to be giving it a mid to good rating.

What stands out, though, is the consensus about its timeliness. It’s almost as if the filmmakers had a crystal ball, because the movie feels eerily relevant for our current times. Alison Willmore from Vulture points out that the Evil Queen is portrayed more explicitly as a fascist figure, while Snow takes on a role reminiscent of a centrist #resistance leader. It’s an unusual choice, but then again, these are strange times we live in.

But does it make for good cinema? That’s what all the critics seem to be debating about “Snow White.” Let’s see what they have to say!

Following West’s initial posting and subsequent deletion of a song with Diddy (currently in jail due to sex-trafficking charges), which included his daughter North West, on March 15, Kanye also shared text screenshots from his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, stating that he released the song against her desires. So far, Kim has not publicly responded to Kanye’s use of their children in his recent work. Interestingly, after Kim praised Playboi Carti for mentioning her brand Skims on his album “Music”, Carti replied, “Ask my niece North to send me a song.

The issues with the recent adaptation of “Snow White,” helmed by Marc Webb, who previously directed “The Amazing Spider-Man,” and written by Erin Cressida Wilson, author of “The Girl on the Train,” are not primarily Rachel Zegler’s fault. Despite the studio’s attempts to position her as a damsel in distress, she delivers a compelling performance as Snow White, interacting convincingly with CGI creatures and powerfully singing the new “I Wish” song, which is prominently featured throughout the film due to its title, “Waiting on a Wish.”

However, Zegler’s portrayal of the classic fairy tale character feels somewhat at odds with the context of the movie. In this version, Snow White is more of a hesitant liberal, struggling to find a way to resist the fascist takeover of her kingdom by her stepmother, the Evil Queen, played by Gal Gadot in an ostentatious wimple and delivering a performance so stiff it borders on being intentionally over-the-top.

The king, Snow White’s father, is absent, his fate unknown, and she spends much of her time inside the castle, worrying about the suffering of her subjects outside. Snow White seems to yearn for the idealized era of Obama’s/her father’s rule, when they would bake apple pies so that the common folk could taste a bit of luxury, and cannot imagine how to fight against the Queen, who may be glamorous but also gained power through traditional means (marriage and sorcery). In essence, Snow White is depicted as an institutionalist, which is perhaps fitting for a princess, unable to envision a way to challenge the status quo.