Tag: Pop Culture

The 5 best Bobby Caldwell songs from the late singer’s incredible career

The soul legend and singer of “What You Won’t Do For Love” died this week.

Bobby Caldwell, the soulful singer with an incredible voice, died this week at the age of 71.

And yes, of course we’re going to include his biggest hit on the list of the best songs of his career, What You Won’t Do for Love. It’s beloved by so many, and one my favorite things is to watch new generations of fans listening to it and having their minds blown at what a great song it is.

But there are other songs of his you should listen to as we pay tribute to the blue-eyed soul legend. Here are his five best tunes:

The Bachelor recap: Contenders, pretenders and power rankings after Ep. 8

We are getting so close to the end.

It’s hometown week, folks! We are down to the final four women vying for Zach Shallcross’s season of The Bachelor as Gabi, Ariel, Charity and Kaity hope to earn a spot in the trio for Fantasy Suite week.

Zach’s journey on the road starts in Pittsford, Vermont with Gabi as the couple scampers through the woods, taps a tree, tries a bunch of different syrups and meets Gabi’s family. It’s a pretty straight-forward and seemingly lovely time for everyone.

Next up, he heads down to New York City with Ariel. She took him around the city, trying traditional Jewish fare like pastrami, gefilte fish and tongue sandwich. Meeting Ariel’s family was a little intense with her brother and father reasonably questioning the process and how well they know each other.

Columbus, Georgia was the next stop so that Zach could meet up with Charity and her family and friends. David, Charity’s father, was my personal favorite this week with the best dad energy and advice for his daughter. Most of Charity’s time with her friends and family was spent rehashing previous heartbreak and crying, but they closed it out with a country music bar.

Last, but not least, was Kaity in Austin. This feels a little unfair — or at the very least foreshadowing — as Zach is also from Austin. The duo went grocery shopping and built a bookshelf. Honestly, the truest test of whether a relationship would work is making a couple do mundane tasks without fighting, so I respect the move of having him do chores around your house. They finished with a visit to meet with Kaity’s mom.

A relatively straightforward hometown week episode with very little drama. Let’s get into the contenders, pretenders, those that have work to do and our Top Five.

The Last of Us fans were overjoyed to see these two major cameos in the season 1 finale

The Last of Us fans were treated to some familiar faces in the season 1 finale.

Longtime fans of The Last of Us were given quite the treat during the TV show’s season finale on Sunday.

HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us, the critically-acclaimed video game series developed by Naughty Dog, ended its first season on Sunday to much discussion from fans. The post-apocalyptic drama series, starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as the series main characters Joel and Ellie, has become a big hit in the prestige TV world over the last few months.

And it’s not difficult to see why, as The Last of Us has been a pretty darn good and faithful adaptation of its dramatic, emotional source material. Not only that, in Sunday’s season finale, fans were treated to not one, but two cameos from its video game cast.

Spoilers for The Last of Us episode nine “Look for the Light” ahead.

Episode nine opens with Ellie’s mother, Anna, giving birth after being bitten by an infected. Playing Anna, however, was none other than Ashley Johnson, who originated the role of Ellie in The Last of Us video games!

Not only that, later in the episode, Laura Bailey got a minute-long cameo as a nurse during a pivotal scene. Bailey voiced a few minor characters in The Last of Us, but played a much larger role in the game’s sequel The Last of Us Part II.

How cool is that! Fans of The Last of Us were rightfully elated to see these two major actresses from the video games get cameos in HBO’s adaptation.

Everyone loved ‘Encino Man’ stars Ke Huy Quan, Brendan Fraser winning Oscars

Movie fans were so happy to see the Encino Man co-stars win Oscars on the same night.

If you had gone back in time and told me that not one, but TWO actors from Encino Man — the 1992 comedy that included Pauly Shore — would be Oscars winners, I might have been shocked.

But here we are. The 2023 Oscars are over, and both Ke Huy Quan — for Everything Everywhere All At Once — and Brendan Fraser (for The Whale) took home acting Academy Awards.

And everyone — including Sean Astin, who starred in Encino Man — had to tweet about those two winning on Sunday night. As you’ll also see below, this fun fact was pointed out before the Academy Awards were handed out:

How many Oscars has Netflix won?

The streamer is still searching for its coveted Best Picture.

The streaming giant Netflix is competing again at this year’s Oscars.

Netflix produces some of our favorite shows, like Outer Banks, and interesting docuseries like the forthcoming Quarterback and the documentary on Manti Te’o. It’s also home to some of our favorite rewatchable films.

But Netflix is also in the business of being nominated for – and winning – awards. It’s one of the reasons why it has paid millions to filmmakers like Jane Campion, David Fincher, Noah Baumbach and Martin Scorsese over the past several years.

At the 95th Academy Awards, Netflix is running in 12 categories. Leading the way in nominations for Netflix is All Quiet on the Western Front, an epic and brutal film focused on War World I from the German perspective. It’s nominated for nine Oscars this year, including Best Picture.

You might be wondering, has Netflix won Oscars before? If so, how many?

The answer is yes, and 16.

Netflix garnered its first Oscars nomination in 2014 when The Square was nominated for Best Documentary Feature. Since then, the category has been somewhat dominated by Netflix, as its films have been nominated 11 times and taken home three wins in Best Documentary Feature.

Best Documentary Short Subject has also been commanded by Netflix, earning 12 nominations, and its where Netflix got its first ever Academy Award win in 2017 with The White Helmets – a film about a group of volunteer rescue workers in Syria.

Netflix started competing in bigger categories in 2018, when Mudbound earned nominations for Best Actress (Mary J. Blige) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Virgil Williams and Dee Rees). 2019 was an even bigger year for Netflix at the Oscars, when Roma was nominated for 10 awards and won in Best Director (Alfonso Cuarón), Best Cinematography and Best Foreign Language Film.

And in 2020, Netflix had two Best Picture nominees in The Irishman and Marriage Story, and won its first acting award when Laura Dern took home Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the latter. Netflix has just one win in 25 acting nominations. Ana de Armas is nominated this year for Blonde.

But Netflix’s white whale remains a Best Picture win. Beginning with Roma in 2019, Netflix has had nine films nominated for Best Picture but hasn’t won the Academy’s most coveted prize. And that’s despite Roma, Mank, and The Power of the Dog leading in total nominations in 2019, 2021 and 2022.

Meanwhile, Netflix competitor Apple won its first Best Picture last year, when CODA won.

How many Oscars does Steven Spielberg have?

A win for ‘The Fabelmans’ puts Spielberg in an exclusive club.

A lot of folks might consider Steven Spielberg to be – if not the best – then the most important director in Hollywood in the past, oh, 50 years.

Since his directorial full-length feature debut in 1971 with Duel, Spielberg has wowed audiences, brough groundbreaking technology to the big screen, and given us some all-time memorable films. Remember, this is the guy who directed Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurrasic Park, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report, Lincoln, and The Post. Spielberg has an incredibly high batting average in Hollywood.

He’s competing at the 95th Academy Awards this year with perhaps his most personal film yet, The Fabelmans, a semi-autobiographical film he directed and co-wrote. It’s a mix of a coming-of-age story, a family drama, and a fun study on film history. It centers around a boy named Sammy, an aspiring filmmaker grappling with his dysfunctional family. It also features a short, wild performance from Judd Hirsch.

It’s not the first time Spielberg has been nominated for an Oscar, of course. The 76-year-old was first nominated for Best Director in 1978 for Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The Fabelmans is his ninth Best Director nomination, and films directed by Spielberg have been nominated for Best Picture seven times, the first being E.T. in 1983.

And should Spielberg win for The Fabelmans, it won’t be his first Oscars win either.

He’s won Best Director twice, both for films in the 1990s; 1994’s Schindler’s List and 1999’s Saving Private Ryan. The former, Schindler’s List, also garnered Spielberg his lone Best Picture win.

When Spielberg was nominated for Best Director this year for The Fabelmans, he tied Martin Scorsese for the second-most all-time nominations in the category with nine. William Wyler has the most with 12.

And should Spielberg win Best Director for The Fabelmans, he will join Wyler and Frank Capra in a three-way tie for second place for the most wins with three. John Ford has the most Best Director wins with four.

As for Best Picture? Well, it seems like Spielberg thinks Top Gun: Maverick should win. Perhaps his public endorsement of the film would be enough for his Minority Report collaborator Tom Cruise.

Oscars 2023: Who is hosting the Oscars this year?

Jimmy Kimmel is back to host the 95th Oscars.

Hosting the Oscars isn’t something that should be taken lightly. It’s considered one of the most prestigious roles in Hollywood, as only some of the biggest, brightest and funniest names in the business have been able to stand on the stage as the host.

The names who typically host are legendary. Folks like Bob Hope, Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg and many more have taken the stage multiple times throughout their illustrious careers.

The same can be said for the host of the awards ceremony this year.

Late night talk show host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel is hosting 2023’s 95th Oscars for the 3rd time in his career. It’ll be the first time he’s been on the stage since 2018.

Here’s what he had to say about the opportunity, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

“Being invited to host the Oscars for a third time is either a great honor or a trap,” Kimmel said. “Either way, I am grateful to the Academy for asking me so quickly after everyone good said no.”

Sounds like we’re in for a great show.

This new Air Jordan 2 is what it would look like if Michael Jordan played for the Celtics

Michael Jordan on the Celtics would be wild — just like this sneaker

Seeing the Air Jordan 2 in a Boston Celtics colorway is kind of weird, but it’s also kind of clean, too?

The Jordan 2 typically comes in that classic Chicago style — the red, black and white all over with the classic leathers and faux iguana skin to top the sneaker off.

But the “Lucky Green” Jordan 2 is a bit different. The bright green tone brings a new life and a new story to the sneaker that we haven’t seen before. It’s a simple sneaker colorway, but it takes the imagination to some wild places for any fan of the game of basketball.

Check it out on the latest episode of Special Delivery, where Sykes and the crew take a look at the Jordan 2 in this wild colorway.

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We occasionally recommend interesting products, services, and gaming opportunities. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. FTW operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

Who should win (and who we think will win) at the 2023 Oscars

Michelle Yeoh for Best Actress? Maybe!

The 95th Academy Awards are just days away, and this year’s race for Best Picture is a stacked and diverse group of films.

We have two legitimate non-Marvel blockbusters in Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water. We have a truly brutal war epic from Germany in All Quiet on the Western Front, a ridiculously awesome and original multiversal adventure in Everything Everywhere All at Once, and an Irish black tragicomedy in The Banshees of Inisherin.

Steven Spielberg is in the race too with his semi-autobiographical drama The Fabelmans (though, it seems like he thinks Maverick should win). We also have a traditional biopic in Elvis (well, as traditional as a Baz Luhrmann film can be) and a biopic about a fictional person in Todd Field’s psychological drama Tár, which is a real showcase for Cate Blanchett, the favorite to win Best Actress, running just ahead of Michelle Yeoh. Women Talking and Triangle of Sadness round out the field.

Ahead of the 2023 Oscars, we — self-proclaimed movie experts at For The Win — are here to tell you who should win and who will win for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress.

Let’s dive in.

Survivor 44 VIBE CHECK: Dorky magnets, hidden talents and what it’s like to watch with a castaway

2 simple rules for watching Survivor with a current castaway

Warning: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED EPISODE 2 OF SURVIVOR 44.

Ready?

Ok.

Welcome to Survivor Vibe Check! Each Thursday this season, Blake Schuster and Bryan Kalbrosky will chat about last night’s episode to see who is thriving and who is straight up not having a good time on the islands of Fiji. Season 44 got off to an absolutely chaotic start. In Episode 2 the game seemed to slow down a bit as players settled into their strategies. Let’s dig into it.

Blake: Before we get into the episode, you went to Claire’s watch party in Brooklyn on Wednesday. Set the scene for us.

Bryan: Claire was a delightful host. She was in a particularly great mood the entire night. Earlier in the day, she had just gotten verified on Instagram (huge win, Claire!) and she got a new tattoo that may or may not allude to the title of the next episode of S44. She laid two ground rules for the night: No phones and cheer whenever she is on the screen. She clearly has the best facial expressions of anyone on the season, so we got a lot of wonderful reaction shots to hoot and holler about. It’s iconic that she has simply not participated in these tribal challenges so far because that’s truly what I would do, too.

One takeaway: Josh (who should be shown on screen more often!) may or may not have initially lied about his profession to his tribe. But as he finished the challenge during this episode, it was clear that he moved his fingers with the surgical precision of his actual profession: a surgeon.

Blake: I would expect absolutely nothing less from Claire. I get the sense that she might be hiding her strength in these early challenges by sitting out, but it’s certainly a huge risk if she’s forced to go to tribal council. So far it’s paid off. Claire has spent the first five days sizing up everyone on her tribe without coming off as a threat.

Bryan: Speaking of which, we got an answer to one of my burning questions from last week: How long can Helen go without revealing that she’s actually wicked smart? It turns out: Not very long! It was a bummer to see her eliminated so early, but like you said, it’s not a bad idea to hide whatever your strengths may be or you could end up in a similar fate.

Blake: Meanwhile, the other big thinker on the Tika tribe, Carson, has put himself in the center of things by aligning with both factions. I can totally see why having Carolyn and Yam Yam in his pocket is a good thing in this moment, but he’s playing with fire there (pun intended) if they ever find out his scheme. The vibe I get from Carson is a much more socially aware version of the game Spencer tried to play in Cagayan.

Side note: Hey Carson, do us all a favor and make those 3D Printed Survivor puzzles free to download online please!

Bryan: I really didn’t like the gameplay I saw from Carson in this episode. I think it’s setting himself up for disaster a bit too early in the season on such a small tribe. He was going to come out looking like a liar no matter who he voted for and that’s not great. I think he’s getting a lot of comparisons to Christian from David vs. Goliath, but he definitely reads more like Spencer to me as well.

The 3D Printed Survivor Puzzles would be fun to have around the house, that’s for sure. That being said, Matthew taking his sling off so he could do the challenge he built at his home was a … choice.

Blake: Matthew just cannot contain himself whether it’s needlessly climbing rocks or revealing way too much about his background. I love his excitement, but my guy, save that for the confessionals when no one can hear you!

Bryan: I think Carolyn was the most fascinating player of the episode, and I’m glad that unlike Brandon, she was able to keep her immunity idol a secret — even if it was challenging.

Blake: Do her and Yam Yam secretly control the game on Tika? That look they gave each other as they left tribal was very telling.

Bryan: They certainly have the majority after that latest vote, so if Carson keeps riding their coattails, they’ve got the power.