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Ted Lasso is back. Season three of the series about the lovable soccer coach/fish out of water follows AFC Richmond once more, this time in the Premier League. The underdog team has a number of rivals they must defeat to come out on top, but Rebecca is focused on one team in particular: West Ham. Her ex-husband Rupert Mannion owns the club—the same club Nate Shelley betrayed Richmond to join. The season three premiere took us to West Ham’s offices, showing Rupert’s office with an extremely Emperor Palpatine vibe. The nod to Star Wars‘ ultimate villain was intentional.

Speaking with Variety, Ted Lasso’s production designer Paul Cripps said Rupert’s office has Return of the Jedi influences. The circular window, the color scheme—nothing about it is warm and inviting. Cripps said:

We always talked of Rupert being like — not saying anything about West Ham the team — but wherever Rupert is, it’s his empire, and he’s the Dark Lord who’s interfering all the time. I just thought, well, actually, why can’t we make him an office that feels like the scene when Luke meets the Emperor?

We have no doubt that Rupert has plenty of dark side behavior up his sleeve.

New episodes of Ted Lasso air on Wednesdays on Apple TV+.

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Memphis Grizzlies’ young superstar basketball player Ja Morant has been running into a lot of trouble lately and was recently suspended by the NBA team. It is reported that he has checked himself into a counseling program with no timetable for his return to the basketball court.

ESPN Senior NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported the news on his Twitter account.

Who doesn’t love a good action movie? Especially one starring Keanu Reeves! If The Matrix was too sci-fi or out of the box for you, well, John Wick: Chapter 4 is practical stunt fighting at its best. 

The John Wick franchise is all about its practical effects and stunning fight choreography. John Wick: Chapter 4 does not disappoint. When filmmakers can make a film beyond the standard trilogy that still keeps the audience engaged and wanting more, you’ve clearly got something special. From the cast and crew in front of the camera and behind, everyone has done what’s needed to make this new chapter not only lovable, but memorable.

Chad Stahelski continues as director of the franchise. The writers are Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum), Michael Finch (Hitman: Agent 47), and Derek Kolstad (John Wick). This new chapter catches up with our favorite hit-man following the events of John Wick: Chapter 3. John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is laying low while the price on his head steadily increases. The Marquis (Bill Skarsgård) has been tasked with finding John and getting rid of him, permanently. John charts a path to defeat the High Table and gain his freedom. Chaos and death follow, pitting John against players from the underworld from New York to Paris to Japan to Berlin. It’s a wild ride across the globe. 

This cast is brilliant. The movie also stars Donnie Yen (Caine), Laurence Fishburne (Bowery King), Hiroyuki Sanada (Shimazu), Shamier Anderson (Tracker), Lance Reddick (Concierge Charon), Rina Sawayama (Akira), Scott Adkins (Killa), and Ian McShane (Manager Winston). These top tier actors played well off each other. The characters are developed so well, and each actor highlights them to perfection. 

In a film where everyone is a criminal, you still have someone to root for or want to see die. That being said, one of the major plot points that really keeps this story going is the conflict between Caine and John. Caine is a blind assassin caught between his ties to the High Table to protect his daughter and his friendship with Wick. His depiction by Yen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) easily became a favorite. To pit the two against each other made for great drama and even greater action. 

There were high stakes for the audience. You didn’t want to see either die. Yen is an accomplished martial arts actor, but he was too smooth with the samurai sword. It was fun to watch. The use of his cane in John Wick: Chapter 4 was reminiscent of his scenes with his walking stick in Rogue One. His humor shines through as well. 

Like Halle Berry in John Wick: Chapter 3, Anderson as Tracker brought action to the film with his dog. This franchise loves their dogs. After all, dogs are part of the foundation for the whole series, the reason John Wick is on his killing spree of the High Table. Skarsgård is such a great villain.

Reeves delivers as John Wick yet again. It’s a character I can’t see anyone else playing. He brings this clumsy, sometimes aloof, dangerous, deadpan emotion, and quirky edge to the character. Sometimes you wonder how he’s still alive, then other times you wonder how he hasn’t killed everyone yet. There was a moment where it looked like his fighting was in slow motion, or the choreography wasn’t as seamlessly integrated. But, I chalked it up to age and the real life look they were going for.

From start to finish, the action in this film is top notch. Not only are the fight sequences choreographed to perfection (thanks, Laurent Demianoff), but the way they are captured on screen is mesmerizing. The cinematography (Dan Laustsen) and direction go hand in hand with the stunt work. It all comes together beautifully. 

You can’t have an action flick without a car chase scene, and this one was one of the coolest I have ever seen. Round and round they went below the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It was that edge-of-your-seat frenzy that we love to get from movies — another reason you can’t miss this one in theaters. John Wick: Chapter 4 is thrilling and the action is ridiculously awesome and funny and entertaining. You don’t mind that the film is almost three hours long. The pacing keeps everything where it should be. The film keeps your focus where it should be.

Action movies seem like a dime a dozen these days, but nothing compares to the John Wick franchise. It’s smart and cool. It doesn’t rely on gigantic explosions or out of the box, farfetched car chases, or hypersexualized women. It’s pretty close to being the perfect action film. Go for the action, stay for the cast. Be wowed in the theater with realistic fight scenes. 

John Wick: Chapter 4 hits theaters March 24, 2023.

Scream VI is a film that’s not quite like any of its predecessors. It takes some interesting risks with its lineup of killers and an opening scene that is a departure from the past. But, it also feels quite different because Sidney Prescott is not in Scream VI. It marks the first time in the franchise that its leading lady bows out of the slicing and dicing. As we know, Sidney was supposed to be in this film; however, Neve Campbell bowed out due to a financial disagreement. So, how does Scream VI address Sidney Prescott’s absence? It’s much simpler than we thought it would be. 

This film is all about Sam and, by extension, Tara, Mindy, and Chad. Kirby and Gale come in to assist and further ground the story as legacy characters with the latter being a (less direct) target of Ghostface because, well, Gale is Gale. When the Ghostface killings arise, Gale rushes to meet Sam and Tara, who aren’t happy to see her because she wrote a book about the events of Scream (2022). You know, the book she said she wasn’t gonna write.

Anyway, Sam briefly asks about Sidney and Gale says that Sid is not getting involved, but instead taking her husband Mark and their kids to safety. Gale says it is “time she had a happy ending,” and honestly, I agree. This string of killings and the killer’s motivations have literally nothing to do with Sid at all. They aren’t even happening in her hometown. So it makes sense for her to mind her business. 

So that’s it. Scream VI addressed Sidney’s absence in quite the brief and logical way. 

Will Sidney Prescott Return to the Scream franchise?

There’s always the chance that Sidney could return to the Scream franchise. But, at this point, the unfortunate torch is now in Sam Carpenter’s hands. It is really up to Radio Silence and Neve Campbell (if all fences are mended) as to whether she will come back for a future Scream film if one happens.

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