Vol. 30
No. 50
Pick Hits
At The Movies
Wonka
With dreams of opening a shop in a city renowned for its chocolate, a young and
poor Willy Wonka discovers that the industry is run by a cartel of greedy
chocolatiers. The design of the Oompa Loompas is taken straight out of Willy
Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), the first adaptation of the novel. The
original novel has no specific descriptions of the Oompa Loompas except that
they have knee-length height, have long hair, and speak their own language.
Tom Holland and Timothée Chalamet were the two
finalists for the role of Willy Wonka, with Chalamet ultimately winning the
role.
Stream This
May December (Netflix)
Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance
gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under
pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a
film about their past. Middle aged Gracie lives a happy,
well settled life with her husband. Some years ago she
was involved in an unsavory scandal but for her it is
all in the past. Movie actress Elizabeth is on a visit
to this home and she is on a mission. This visit is a
part of her preparation to play the role of Gracie in a
movie being made. As she goes about talking to the
family members Gracie wonders whether Elizabeth will
uncover some secrets from her past and will some
skeletons be revealed. May December featuring Natalie
Portman and Julianne Moore is
streaming with subscription on Netflix.
Stream This Too
Candy Cane Lane (Prime Video)
A man is determined to win the neighborhood's annual
Christmas decorating contest. He makes a pact with an
elf to help him win--and the elf casts a spell that
brings the 12 days of Christmas to life, which brings
unexpected chaos to town. Eddie Murphy is a delight and
tracee Ellis Ross is wonderful. I thought it was
entertaining and enjoyable. If you want a comedic,
colorful Christmas movie, you'll enjoy this. Don't sleep
on the adorable end credit scene. Candy Cane Lane
featuring Eddie Murphy and Tracee
Ellis Ross is streaming with subscription
on Prime Video.
The Buzz...
Bryan Adams wanted to “save” Princess Diana. The
Summer of '69 hitmaker befriended the princess when she was married to now
King Charles and they grew closer in her later years, and the 64
year old star admitted their bond was one of the “greatest things” to ever
happen to him.
Taylor Swift says touring leaves her so exhausted she can barely
leave her bed. The Shake It Off singer, 33, has been on her record
breaking Eras Tour and opened up about the impact on her body in
an interview with TIME magazine, in the issue that named her its Person
of the Year. She said: “I do not leave my bed except to get food and take it
back to my bed and eat it there.
Twenty six years after it hit theatres, James Cameron still can
recall the headlines leading up to the December 1997 release of his box office
smash Titanic. “Glub, Glub, Glub,” read one in Time magazine.
Variety hopped on the trend bashing the flick with something called “Titanic
Watch.” At the time pegged as the most expensive film ever made, pundits eagerly
turned their keyboards into weapons in a bid to try and torpedo Cameron’s big
budgeted romance before it opened in theatres.
Ryan O’Neal, the heartthrob actor who went from a TV soap opera to an
Oscar-nominated role in Love Story and delivered a wry
performance opposite his charismatic 9 year old daughter Tatum in
Paper Moon, died Friday.
The Boy and the Heron, a fantastical coming-of-age story
from animation maestro Hayao Miyazaki, earned $12.8 million in its
opening weekend, becoming the first original anime production to top the
domestic box office.
Aimee Lou Wood and David Morrissey have been
tapped for the lead roles in new BBC comedy Daddy Issues.
Wood is best known for her turns in Sex Education and Living (the
latter opposite Bill Nighy) while Morrissey has starred in The
Walking Dead, where he played The Governor, and
James Graham’s series Sherwood.
Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell, the oldest daughter of Mama
June Shannon, a reality TV star and co-star of Here Comes Honey
Boo Boo, passed away on Saturday, December 9, due to Stage 4 adrenal
carcinoma. She was 29 years old.
Lucky Hank didn’t live up to its title, unfortunately. AMC
canceled the comedy drama seven months after the first (and now only) season
finished airing. Lucky Hank was based on the novel Straight Man by
Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Russo.
Adam Driver is one episode away from Saturday Night
Live’s venerated Five-Timer Club after hosting the NBC
sketch-comedy series for a fourth time on Saturday, with Olivia
Rodrigo as the musical guest.
Tucker Carlson is asking fans to fork over $72 for a charter one
year subscription to his new streaming video service, which his site says is
“days away” from launching.
The first responders of Station 19 are answering their last calls.
The Grey’s Anatomy spinoff will end with its forthcoming seventh season.
The news, first reported by Deadline, comes after Station 19 averaged 5.2
million total viewers and a 0.7 rating in the 18 to 49 demographic in Season 6,
per TVLine.