Picking up sort of where the original Critters series left off, Critters: A New Binge offers us an updated story in eight episodes of roughly 11 minutes each.  

Christopher (Joey Morgan) is a high-schooler with an insatiable appetite. His mother Veronica (Kirsten Robeck) constantly shames him and even tries to starve him out of his food lust to no avail. Chris’ best friend Charlie (Bzhaun Rhoden) sneaks him pizzas and encourages him to do something constructive with his hunger: enter the town of Livingstone, Iowa’s yearly hot dog eating competition. Dana (Stephi Chin-Salvo) is Chris’ long-time crush, and her popular boyfriend Ethan (Quinn Bui) is also a prime bully. All the while, a group of carnivorous aliens of the Krite species head to Earth to rescue one of their own who was left behind years ago and is now necessary for the future of the universe.

Now streaming on Shudder as one of the network’s original offerings, Critters: A New Binge has a fun and campy 80s horror style that is a solid homage to Stephen Herek’s original film. As in the original, the hairy and multi-fanged critters are being pursued by shapeshifting alien bounty hunters whose goal is to eradicate the monstrous species that wreaks havoc wherever it goes. A New Binge is no exception. Even though the Krites have been given specific orders of “NO EATING!” the creatures can’t help themselves. The body count is enormous for just 80 minutes of screen time, including pets.

While this kind of horror comedy can be difficult to pull off unless every actor is on the same over-the-top page, A New Binge manages it along with bringing a cool indie vibe to the franchise that is fresh and funny. The cast is diverse and offers some good representation. But still, the Black best friend to a white protagonist trope is really tired. 

A New Binge‘s references to other classics such as The Terminator and The Matrix are well-placed and hilarious. There is an excellent Avengers: Infinity War nod (even though jokes about Thanos’ finger snap are still way too soon for me). The critters’ makeover with better special effects and 2019’s advanced puppetry made the monsters far more realistic and grotesque than they were in the 80s, which works really well especially in high definition. Their raunchy and double entendre-laden dialogue is often laugh-out-loud funny and adds to the general sense of camp director Jordan Rubin has mastered.

Although the mother’s food and fat shaming of her son bothered me a lot at first — and might be enough to turn away some viewers altogether — it does actually have plot relevance that makes sense by the end. Still, the language Veronica uses toward her only son, and his terrible nickname of “Pork Chop”, is as disturbing as the creatures. Verbally and physically abusing children is not cool, and because of these themes, I didn’t laugh as much as I might have had their relationship been framed less problematically for a horror comedy. The fact that Veronica is openly sexual on the living room couch with her boyfriend when she knows her son will be coming home from school was gross in an incestuous way, and that kind of sexual impropriety in front of a child could also be considered abuse. There’s just nothing funny about any of this even though A New Binge tried to gloss over it.

The micro-episode idea is unique and interesting, but I’m not sure why they didn’t simply make A New Binge into a full-length movie instead. The flow was constantly interrupted by each cliffhanger ending, and 10 minutes an episode isn’t really enough time to fully develop an arc. Because of this, the entire project feels like there was something missing. A social justice commentary would have been a strong addition to the story especially given our current political climate and its obsession with “alien invaders” from the southern border. But to this credit, the fast pace of each episode left no room for dreaded exposition and forced the story into a tight package that does work. The ending is a perfect set-up for what looks to be an interesting and fun sequel. Hopefully, they’ll address some of the more problematic aspects, which would deepen the narrative tremendously even if it remains short-form. 

Overall, horror fans will enjoy Critters: A New Binge. But I’m not sure if it has the crossover appeal as some other horror comedies like the recent SXSW premiere Snatchers. While I did miss watching a horror show without explicit social commentary, I have to admit that it was a nice break to watch a bunch of little monsters play hell on a town and that be the entire plot. Critters: A New Binge is a ball of pure silliness and fun, and there is certainly an important place for stories like this, particularly during dark times. Lighthearted fun is should always be welcome, and in this arena Critters: A New Binge does shine. 

The post Review: ‘Critters: A New Binge’ is a Fun Horror Comedy in a Unique Short-form Format appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

Leave it up to Chris Rock to address the elephant in the room at the 50th annual NAACP Image Awards on Saturday. The racy comedian brazenly poked fun at actor Jussie Smollett before presenting the Image Award for outstanding comedy series during the live event, which was broadcasted on TV One.

“They said no Jussie Smollett jokes,” Rock said. “I know. What a waste of light skin, you know? You know what I could do with that light skin? That curly hair? My career would be outta here, f–king running Hollywood.” He continued as the audience laughed, “What the hell was he thinking? From now on I ain’t never gonna (say) no ‘Jussie’ — you’re a ‘Jessie’ from now on. You don’t get the ‘u’ no more. That ‘u’ was respect. You don’t get no respect from me.

The joke centered on accusations that Smollett falsified a police report and staged a fake homophobic and racist hate crime in Chicago earlier this year. Although he was charged with 16 counts and was facing up to 48 years in prison, state prosecutors cleared him of all charges in a controversial move last week [The case was also sealed and Smollett agreed to community service as well as forfeiture of $10,000 bail.]. Still, the embattled star opted not to appear at the Image Awards nor the preceding awards dinner held the night before where he lost the nomination for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series to actor Jesse Williams for his role in Grey’s Anatomy.

Despite the laughs that Rock’s jokes drew from the audience, many stars at the awards expressed support for Smollett. Yara Shahidi, for instance, shot back at Rock, proclaiming “I stand with Jussie” while she and the cast of “Black-ish” accepted the award for outstanding comedy series. Likewise, Rep. Maxine Waters defended the openly gay actor. “Jussie Smollett is like a son to me. I’m very pleased about the verdict. I’m very pleased that he now has an opportunity to pick up and go on with his life,” the congresswoman told BLACK ENTERPRISE shortly after accepting the NAACP Chairman’s Award.

A number of public officials, including the Chicago police chief, Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, and even President Donald Trump blasted the decision to clear Smollett’s record. Waters, however, argued that it’s time for everyone to “settle down” and “let it go.”

“Nobody got hurt, nobody got shot, nobody was killed, Jussie Smollett had never committed a crime before,” she told BE. “Chicago has a lot of problems; a lot of killings go on every day. I would much rather they spend time and their money and their effort to apprehend killers and folks that are wreaking havoc on that city.”

Hazel Dukes, the former NAACP president and the current president of the NAACP New York State Conference, also criticized the response from Mayor Emanuel, who called the dropping of charges against Smollett “an unbelievable whitewash of justice.”

“I was upset with the mayor’s comment,” Dukes told BE. “As many blacks [that have] been killed by the police officers, he never came out that it was whitewashed when they didn’t get put in jail.”

“Black-ish” star Anthony Anderson, who served as the host of the Image Awards, expressed his support for Smollett, previously telling Variety that he was rooting for Smollett to win an award. “I hope he wins. I’m happy for him that the system worked for him in his favor because the system isn’t always fair, especially for people of color,” Anderson said. “So I’m glad it worked out for him. It’s not my place or any other person’s place to judge him or what not, but I’m glad that he’s nominated… I hope he wins because I’d be interested to hear his speech.”

Meanwhile, Smollett has maintained his innocence. His character, however, has been removed from the last two episodes of “Empire.”

The post “Jussie Smollett is like a son to me:” Maxine Waters and Other Stars Defend the “Empire” Actor at the NAACP Image Awards appeared first on Black Enterprise.

First, I think Joe Russo is lying. Maybe I’m misremembering but wasn’t there a time when we were told that Stan Lee filmed a bunch of cameos so we’d have him in our Marvel movies for years to come? Or was that just a dream I had? Either way, Joe Russo saying that Avengers: Endgame is the last Stan Lee cameo is either a lie or it is Marvel’s way of signing off the end of the Infinity Saga as well as the Stan Lee era.

While promoting Avengers: Endgame in India, Joe Russo had a lot to share about the cameos, his time working with Lee, and what it all means to him.

“I believe that his final cameo is in Endgame. I don’t remember if he was well enough to do the cameo in Spider-Man [Far From Home]. But it was incredible to work with him. I grew up on his comic books. Stan Lee was an idol of mine as a kid. To be able to have the opportunity to not only to work under the material he created but to work with him is a childhood dream come true.”

Does this mean that the time of the Stan Lee cameo is coming to an end? Or are we going to be surprised with more in the future? Reports have previously suggested there are more post-Endgame cameos, so it’s hard to know who’s telling the truth. Kevin Feige saying “Stan always appreciated a good surprise” may be key here. I’d not really trust the Russo brothers if I were you; they’re known for tricking fans and making us cry. Still, the idea of a Marvel movie without Stan Lee hurts more than I expected it to.

(image: Kevin Winter/Getty Images; source: Comicbook.com)

Here are some other stories we saw today:

• Marvel could be closing in on a deal with Priyanka Chopra? Is this real life? (via Comicbook)

• justin bieber’s pregnancy announcement ultrasound pic is literally from the wikipedia entry for “ultrasound” i’m DYING pic.twitter.com/Xsi3f9Kmhi

  — nicole boyce (@nicolewboyce) April 1, 2019

• Ben Shapiro doesn’t understand AOC. What else is new? (via Twitter) 

• I wrote a book called #Sulwe! This is the cover, illustrated by @VashtiHarrison! Available for pre-order now & out Oct 1 ➡️https://t.co/O04OLMf5XX
  I wrote Sulwe to inspire children (and everyone really!) to love the skin they are in & to see the beauty that radiates from within. pic.twitter.com/z0gpC2neOX

  — Lupita Nyong’o (@Lupita_Nyongo) April 1, 2019

• Color me shocked, the computer can cry! In Vision’s last moments in Infinity War, he shed a tear in reference to a famous comic panel. (via Reddit)

Anything we missed out there? Let us know!

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(Mild spoilers for the first two episodes of The Twilight Zone follow.)

A comedian finds out that getting what he wants comes with a price. An investigative journalist is on the flight from hell. These are our first steps into The Twilight Zone, reimagined by horror maestro Jordan Peele. The first two episodes have debuted on CBS All Access, though the first episode, “The Comedian,” is available on YouTube for free; If you haven’t watched it yet, it’s time to dive into the place where science and superstition meet.

Between Us and The Twilight Zone, Jordan Peele is having a banner 2019. If I sound like I’m gushing about his work, that’s because I am. Moody and atmospheric, Peele and his writers and directors have created something that not only feels like it honors the originals but brings us something fresh and exciting.

My favorite of the two episodes released was “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet” which smartly adapts one of the most famous and often parodied episodes of the original series. Adam Scott stars as Justin Sanderson, investigative journalist, who tunes into a true crime podcast only to find out it’s narrating the disappearance of the flight he is on. There are plenty of layers to the mystery, and Scott’s naturally likable persona works perfectly as Justin. The claustrophobic setting only heightens the tension, and the use of a true crime podcast is absolutely a stroke of genius.

This isn’t to say that the first episode doesn’t shine as well. Kumail Nanjiani is stellar as Samir Wassan, a struggling comedian who wants to make a living telling pointedly political jokes that get people to think. A pitch-perfect Tracy Morgan plays an older comedian who gives him advice to make things more personal; the trouble is, making things more personal means that whoever Samir jokes about winds up disappearing. Nanjiani should already consider himself in the Best Guest Actor race in the Emmys; his performance is incredible.

For those interested to know if the reimagining keeps up the political subtext (and sometimes outright text) of the originals, never fear. Both episodes pack in the commentary, and all of it is well-earned. I am excited to read the thinkpieces written on both episodes, particular on “Nightmare,” as I found that to have some fascinating layers. Going into the show, we know it’s a suspense show full of twists and surprises. What matters more is how Peele and his writers room use those twists to convey interesting commentary on the themes of the episodes themselves.

I wouldn’t expect less from Peele, whose sharp Get Out won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar and whose sophomore smash Us is breaking box office records. He’s assembled a strong directorial and writing team that creates an outstanding visual language as well as taught, suspenseful scripts. Peele has also clearly hired directors who get their actors, as both Nanjiani and Scott turn in outstanding work, and the supporting cast is equally strong.

This new, inclusive, equally sharp Zone is thrilling and addictive. I already am counting down until the next episode. With more star turns promised in upcoming episodes (I personally cannot wait for Sanaa Lathan, Steven Yeun, and John Cho to make appearances) and equally chilling and engaging tales on the horizon, Peele’s series is already can’t miss television. I personally am welcoming this new journey into The Twilight Zone.

(image: CBS All Access)

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