News

A course correction after the wild genre experimentation of last year’s Pink Tape, Lil Uzi Vert’s Eternal Atake 2 isn’t so much an evolution of 2020’s Eternal Atake as it is a watered-down rehash of it. Gone are the personality, ambition, and world-building visions that defined those previous two albums, replaced with 16 tracks’ worth of disjointed flows, bland beats, and shaky vocal performances.

In theory, a sequel like this should be a cakewalk: a snappy collection of vaguely poppy, energetic crowd-pleasers with just enough drill influence to still qualify as rap. In other words, Uzi’s bread and butter. But the minimal legwork required to get there is sorely lacking here, and Eternal Atake 2 suffers from a serious lapse in quality control.

Say what you will about the lyrical drivel coming from Uzi’s mouth half the time—the low point being two different songs hinging on cringe-worthy homophones,...

[This story contains mild spoilers to The Bear season two.]

For as long as Ayo Edebiri can remember, Robert Townsend has been a part of her life. “He literally was my dad for a period,” says The Bear star, referencing the pioneering actor and director’s role as Robert Peterson on the WB sitcom The Parent ‘Hood, which he created and starred in from 1995-1999.

In a collage that sits in front of Edebiri’s desk is a cutout of a poster of Hollywood Shuffle, Townsend’s 1987 semi-autobiographical comedy which he co-wrote, produced, directed and starred in. When she and co-host Olivia Craighead released the second episode in the director series of their Iconography podcast on July 29, 2020, Townsend was Edebiri’s chosen icon. And when Christopher Storer, The Bear’s creator and co-showrunner, asked the actress who portrays Sydney in the comedy-drama who she wanted to play her dad in season two, she told him, “My dream would be Robert Townsend.

Our series on big-screen remakes continues with a cult horror film that kickstarted the illustrious career of Steve McQueen. This week, Cinelinx looks at The Blob (1958 vs. 1988). Come inside to see how these two films stack up.

The original version of The Blob was a low-budget monster film made for $110,000. The titular creature was originally supposed to be called The Molten Meteor Monster, which then was changed to The Mass, which turned into The Glob, and Finally The Blob. The film's tongue-in-cheek title song was written by Burt Bacharach and Mack David, which became a hit. The movie was directed by Irvin Yeaworth who specialized in directing motivational educational and religious films, so this was a departure for him. The film was a moderate success, grossing over $4 million, although the critics weren’t overly kind. It has a 67% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite its cheesiness, its reputation has grown over...

I Was a Teenage Thanksgiving Turkey! week continues at Trailers from Hell, today with director and Tfh creator Joe Dante introducing monster movie-meets-sagebrush saga "Teenage Monster," the sole directorial effort of cinematographer Jacques Marquette. The sole directorial effort of cinematographer Jacques Marquette (A Bucket of Blood, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, Burnt Offerings) came about when the intended director backed out, reducing the 8 day schedule by one, and Dp Marquette took over. It's an odd but entirely conventional amalgam of monster movie and sagebrush saga. Shot for $57,000 under its eventual tv release title Meteor Monster, it's one of the more desperate entries in the 50s teenage monster cycle. 50 year-old Gil Perkins plays the title role.