Know he loves you

Say what you will about Imagine Dragons , but they don’t do things halfway. Since breaking through in the early 2010s with singles like the monster stomp “Radioactive” and the neo-power-ballad “Demons,” the Las Vegas band has been big in every sense — its success, its sound, its ambition. So it makes sense that their latest album, the 18-track opus Mercury — Act 2 , is actually the second half of a double album, finishing off what last year’s sprawling Mercury — Act 1 started. Thematically, Mercury — Act 2 deals with the existential fallout of the loss that was described on Mercury — Act 1 , with tracks riddled with self-loathing and regret, as well as the occasional upbeat offering. “Life is just perspective/Laughing when you’ve wrecked it,” frontman Dan Reynolds muses on the ornate “Symphony,” and that seems to be the guiding ethos of Act 2 , which leavens Imagine Dragons’ sometimes-crushing sound with darkly witty lyrics and, occasionally, … [Read more...] about Imagine Dragons Still Know How to Efficiently Stomp Stadiums Into Rubble

Raye is done giving a fuck about what people think. After being locked in a cage of her former record label for more than five years and unable to release a debut album, Raye is ready to show the world her star power as she debuts unapologetic anthem “Hard Out Here” with Rolling Stone . “I can’t even tell you how liberated I feel,” Raye tells Rolling Stone . “This video is me done being a nice polite pop star. And for the first time, I’m performing and preparing to tell my truth — unapologetically and with no fear.” Filmed at Henry the Eighth’s old hunting lodge (the King was “notorious for his disrespect toward women,” she says), Raye brought all the different iterations of the artist she was told to be while signed to Polydor: a time when she was to change looks, genres, and identities to fit her label’s belief of who she should be. “I was reminded very often that I’m unaware of who I am, which led me to constantly look for outward validation from people who have no idea … [Read more...] about Raye Is ‘Done Being a Nice Polite Pop Star’ as She Debuts Unapologetic Comeback

Zawe Ashton, Hayley Squires And Daniel Mays Land Leads In BBC Adaptation Of ‘ Maryland ’ Lucy Kirkwood’s play Maryland is being adapted for the BBC and Zawe Ashton ( Fresh Meat ), Hayley Squires ( I, Daniel Blake ) and Daniel Mays ( Des , Line of Duty ) have landed the lead roles. The 30-minute adaptation of the Royal Court play will be called Mary and air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer on July 20. Kirkwood and doc director Brian Hill are co-directors on the story, which is billed as a “artistic response to recent real-life events” such as the murders of British women Sarah Everard, Bibaa Henry, Nicole Smallman and Sabina Nessa, grappling with the violence facing women in their everyday lives. Ashton and Squires play women both called Mary who meet at a police station in the aftermath of their respective sexual assaults. Kirkwood said: “I wrote the original play as a howl against the way we have normalised violence against women as something to be accommodated by … [Read more...] about BBC ‘Maryland’ Adaptation Sets Leads; EBU Presidency; Rockerdale Studios Hire; C4 Explores Bowels — Global Briefs

When A League of Their Own hit theaters on July 1, 1992, it was up against a crowded slate of blockbusters, including Batman Returns , Lethal Weapon 3 , Patriot Games , and Universal Soldier , that were expected to linger around multiplexes all summer. But when Labor Day rolled around two months later, all those other movies had faded away, and A League of Their Own was still packing in crowds on its way toward a $107.5 million domestic gross. Love for the Penny Marshall-directed film about the World War II-era All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, staring Geena Davis , Lori Petty, Tom Hanks , Madonna , and Rosie O’Donnell, has only grown in the three decades that followed thanks to VHS rentals, DVD sales, and endless replays on cable television. It’s a rare movie that appeals to people across all age groups and demographics, and it revived interest in the half-forgotten AAGPBL. In honor of A League of Their Own ‘s 30th anniversary, we spoke with … [Read more...] about ‘There’s No Crying in Baseball!’: ‘A League of Their Own’ Turns 30

This post contains full spoilers for the final two episodes of Stranger Things Season Four, which are streaming now on Netflix. Midway through the super-supersized Stranger Things fourth-season finale, “The Piggyback,” Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Steve (Joe Keery), and Robin (Maya Hawke) are climbing a haunted house’s stairway in the Upside Down as part of a complicated plan to keep the hell dimension from breaking through into their own world. They have avoided attention so far, but suddenly Robin wakes up the demonic tentacles that surround them, and within moments, all three teens are pinned to the walls, having the life choked out of them. The scene cuts to another set of characters, leaving the viewer on edge about how (or if, but not really) Nancy and the others will escape what looks like certain doom. A few scenes later, the season’s main villain, Vecna/One/Henry/Mother of Dragons/Breaker of Chains/Cleaner of Carpets (played under at least some of those names by … [Read more...] about ‘Stranger Things’ Season Four Finale: Runnin’ Up That Hill for Two-Plus Hours Isn’t So Fun

Gallery Launch Gallery Getty Arguably the biggest days in Brittney Griner 's life have finally arrived -- her drug case trial in Russia has begun ... and it appears she chose to send a loud and clear message with her fashion for the monumental moment. Cameras at a courthouse in Moscow captured Griner in the minutes before the trial officially began Friday morning ... and they showed the WNBA superstar rockin' a Jimi Hendrix T-shirt for the occasion. Getty While we're sure Griner is a big fan of the musician's work ... it seems the 31-year-old -- who's been detained in Russia since mid-February after authorities claimed she had hash oil in her luggage at an airport -- was attempting to send an "I'm innocent" note to the world. You'll recall, Hendrix was arrested in Toronto back in 1969 after he, too, allegedly had drugs in his bags at an airport. Hendrix eventually stood trial in the case, but was found not guilty. … [Read more...] about Brittney Griner Stands Trial In Russia, Arrives At Court In Jimi Hendrix T-Shirt

“And I got a heart that beats too fast,” Sophie Allison informs us on her third album as Soccer Mommy . “And a shake in my hands and a pain in my back.” The song is called “Feel It All the Time,” a perfect example of her ability at channeling her complicated, contradictory feelings into perfectly crafted pop songs. As on her previous albums, Allison’s métier is tense, dreamily lush Nineties indie rock, with echoes of Liz Phair, Helium, and other artists who specialized in making secret sharing seem like community building. On Sometimes, Forever , every languid lyric and opaque melody feels strategically placed with care and concern. With its hefty bass and foreboding feel, “ Shotgun ” maps out an unhealthy relationship (“I like dessert and alcohol/And watching as you get drunk,” she sings), but when the chorus opens up, it’s like a sunrise after a long, hard night. “Bones” meanders beautifully through its admission of self-doubt, the guitars buzzing, sparkling, and burning … [Read more...] about Soccer Mommy Deepens Her Indie-Rock Brilliance on ‘Sometimes, Forever’

In the competitive world of feature animation, it takes more than an entertaining yarn and a bit of slapstick comedy to cut through the noise. To make an impact at the box office in 2018—and at the Oscars, heading now into its 91st go-round—filmmakers are called upon to pursue a new standard of excellence, going back to the drawing board with each new effort, and finding exciting ways to break the mold. Leading the charge as regular contenders for Best Animated Feature since the category was created in 2001, Walt Disney Studios , and its Bay area subsidiary Pixar , once again enter the field of 25 films, with two projects that embody the category’s ideals. First, there’s Incredibles 2 , Brad Bird’s return to the groundbreaking superhero world he established in 2004. Sending the Parr family off on new adventures (with Elastigirl out chasing runaway trains, and Mr. Incredible taking a backseat), the film easily achieved hard-to-get hit sequel status, setting a record … [Read more...] about Oscars: Can Anyone Break Disney & Pixar’s Animated Feature Streak In 2019?

After working with screenwriter Mari Okada for a number of years, producer Kenji Horikawa needed to learn to work with the artist in a different way, as she set out to make her directorial debut with Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms . An ambitious anime that conjures up a singular, fantastical world, the Oscar-shortlisted feature centers on Maquia, an immortal girl who takes a newborn baby boy out of dire circumstances, raising him as her own, and watching the relationship blossom into myriad complexities over the years. Certainly, Maquia was an ambitious project for any director to take on, and particularly for a fledgling helmer. “It was such a big project that a lot of people weren’t sure that she could do it, so there was some resistance met there, and that was also a challenge to push through,” Horikawa reflects. “A lot of really amazing talents came together for this film, so my first question was, how do we get them to all recognize her as a director, when she … [Read more...] about With ‘Maquia: When The Promised Flower Blooms,’ Producer Kenji Horikawa Stands Behind Talent Of Visionary Newcomer

Asked to direct Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation —following his work on two prior installments of the franchise—the biggest obstacle Genndy Tartakovsky faced was that he didn’t want to make the film in the first place. Seeing installments one and two snowball to major commercial success, the director was nonetheless loathe to repeat himself, continuing the story of Dracula—played by Adam Sandler—and the castle to which he is bound. Breaking out in television, through the creation of hit Cartoon Network series including Dexter’s Laboratory and Samurai Jack , Tartakovsky was used to the creative control that came with this arena, which presented an altogether different creative experience, still informing his work to this day. When he was approached by Sony Pictures Animation to make his feature debut with the original Hotel Transylvania , Tartakovsky couldn’t have anticipated the internal conflict that would result. Seeing major results at the helm of studio … [Read more...] about ‘Hotel Transylvania 3’ Helmer Genndy Tartakovsky Confronts Studio Notes, Striving To Break Out With Original Works