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It’s Memorial Day weekend, and unless you’re living dangerously (and stupidly) at the country’s most packed pool party, chances are you’re stuck at home. Good for you for behaving like a responsible adult! But bad for all of us bummed about a Memorial Day sans BBQs, pool parties, and good times. But all is not lost, as the internet has seen fit to gift us with something we didn’t know we needed: Oscar Isaac as beds.

The Prime Video Twitter account has been posting pictures of the erstwhile Poe Dameron dressed as different beds and reader, it’s just what the doctor ordered. Oscar Isaac is very handsome, talented, and delightful. Beds are cozy and comfy. Combine the two, and you get a quarantine situation no one could ignore.

pic.twitter.com/ajAIGbc4v4

— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) May 23, 2020

pic.twitter.com/q0ltZiRz3j

— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) May 23, 2020

pic.twitter.com/W9yYMBOXxx

— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) May 23, 2020

pic.twitter.com/CK3gyzCMY6

— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) May 23, 2020

pic.twitter.com/dhIYwZaVdB

— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) May 23, 2020

That’s it for this cozy edition of “Oscar Isaac as beds” thread! Hope you enjoyed the…thread count. Sweet dreams, y’all. pic.twitter.com/UnqtJjC8BK

— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) May 23, 2020

Happy Memorial Day weekend, we hope you spend it safely and responsibly, curled up in bed with your Oscar Isaac pillow. What’s that? You don’t have a body pillow shaped like Oscar Isaac? Neither do we … we swear.

(image: Disney)

• Let’s deep dive into the world of DC animated movies. (via Syfy Wire)
• Folks are upset that Netflix has censored Back to the Future Part II. (via AVClub)
• FX’s brilliant What We Do in the Shadows gets renewed for a third season. (via Nerdist)

tonight.. we dine like kings pic.twitter.com/bcO9UWPkof

— Eclair Pupperdog ✨ (@eclairpupperdog) May 24, 2020

• Can a former NASA engineer stop squirrels from eating at his bird feeder? SPOILER ALERT: no. (via Gizmodo)
• Are AT-ATs poorly designed or have we been looking at things too closely? (via io9)
• Now that the Snyder cut is coming, fans are clamoring for an Ayer cut of Suicide Squad. Pass. (via CBR)
• This moth is ready to party:

This moth exists in nature and it’s ON MY DECK pic.twitter.com/frBXkvav3d

— Rebecca Lavoie (@reblavoie) May 21, 2020

Happy Memorial Day weekend, Mary Suevians!

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Led by Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani, The Lovebirds was meant to have a big screen release before the pandemic attacked. Their options are the two that each Hollywood movie has had to make since March, deciding between a delayed release or moving to video-on-demand. In an audible, right to The Lovebirds was bought by Netflix, presumably the company banking on the names of its stars to drive attention and add to its growing list of successful movies. And by standards of commercial success (or Netflix traffic, as mysterious as it may be), The Lovebirds will serve its purpose of adding the credibility that A-list Hollywood actors offer. As a comedy though, The Lovebirds will leave you grateful you were able to stream it with an already-paid-for password rather than shelling out $15 or more for a theater seat.

The strength of the film lies in their banter, as Rae and Nanjiani are as charming and cute as you would expect. Directed by Michael Showalter from Nanjiani’s The Big Sick, small laughs come easily from a clear chemistry seen best in the subtle comments tucked into Rae and Nanjiani’s overlapping bickering. Larger laughs are few and far between, with most of the film’s biggest laugh bait spent in its trailer: driving over a biker, interrogating a frat boy, being kicked by a horse. The plot is equally straightforward in its own silly way: when their red-hot romance turns sour after four years of dating, Leilani (Rae) and Jibran (Nanjiani) begin to fall in love again after being thrust into a series of hijinks that leave them ducking the law and hoping to solve a mystery to save their lives. The details of the hijinks aren’t as important as two things in a screwball comedy: 1) the theme it attempts to pull off, which is often surprisingly heartwarming, and, of course, 2) the laughs along the way.

On the spectrum between laugh-out-loud moments on one end and tender moments for balance, it walks the middle so consistently that The Lovebirds might best be described as safe comedy, the type that finds its few simple strengths and settles for them. Its plot of random occurrences are reminiscent of Game Night or Girls Trip (add Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle if you’re older) minus the ensembles that keep the laughs big and varied, multiple executions coming from different directions. Instead, the supporting cast of The Lovebirds is a revolving door of 2-minute cameos, few who are notably funny and none who offer themselves enough character development for situational comedy to land.

Such dependence on Rae and Nanjiani beg the question whether The Lovebirds would have thrived better leaning towards the traditional romantic comedy — emphasis on romance — rather than a true comedy for which success often takes a wider cast or an exceptionally talented comedian. While their constant bickering and observational humor on quirky absurdities are clever, it’s hardly memorable for anything more than a passing quip. Where The Lovebirds lay its thematic focus is on the lost magic of a relationship after the passion dies down and two people begin to grate on each other’s nerves, and the work it takes to remember why you fell in love with someone in the first place. It doesn’t need to be original to work, but it rarely pulls hard in plucking the heart strings: the lowest low comes in their initial breakup that happens suddenly, the highest high coming as they sing Katy Perry together as a spark rekindles their flame.

Laughs from Rae and Nanjiani’s banter and charm are enough to save The Lovebirds from disaster but not enough to make it memorable or worth recommending. Perhaps a comedy like this one would have benefited from the energy of a full audience in a theater of laughing moviegoers, but even still, I would suspect the laughter falling short of the value of its tickets price. The Lovebirds is cute, passable, and little more.

The Lovebirds is now available for streaming on Netflix.

Find all of Jordan Calhoun’s Rotten Tomatoes-approved movie reviews at Jordan Calhoun at the Movies.

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The post Lovebirds is Great Talent, Not a Great Movie appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

Mary J. Blige dropped a new single entitled “Can’t Be Life” today in conjunction with the new film, Body Cam that debuted this week on Digital platforms. 

The song will be available on Apple Music and Spotify and is featured over the end credits of the film.

The song reunites Blige with longtime collaborators Chucky Thompson (My Life, Mary, The Breakthrough), Denise Rich (“Don’t Waste Your Time” duet w/Aretha Franklin from Mary) and Bruce Miller (No More Drama, Love & Life), and brings in longtime songwriting vets Stacy Barthe (Beyonce, Nipsey Hussle, Rihanna), Jimmy Cozier (Janet Jackson, Chris Brown, Alicia Keys) and Aaron Phillips (P!nk, Demi Lovato, Kelly Price). “Can’t Be Life” is an original song for the film Body Cam and speaks candidly to the current times.

An intense action thriller, Body Cam stars Blige, Nat Wolff, David Zayas, and Anika Noni Rose and is directed by Malik Vitthal whose directorial debut, Imperial Dreams, won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.

When a routine traffic stop results in the unexplained, grisly death of her colleague, a cop (Blige) realizes footage of the incident will play for her eyes only. As the attacks mount, she races to understand the supernatural force behind them.

Body Cam is available to purchase now on Digital platforms including Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Microsoft Movies & TV, Sony PlayStation Video, FandangoNOW and more.

“Can’t Be Life” was written by Mary J Blige, Denise Rich, Chucky Thompson, Stacy Barthe, Aaron Philips, and Jimmy Cozier.  Production by Chucky Thompson, @chucklife 365 music & Denise Rich, Denise Rich Songs.  Executive producers Mary J Blige for Mary Jane Productions, Inc, Denise Rich for Denise Rich Songs. Co-executive producers Bruce Miller for Blue Light Media, Blossette Kitson for Kitson Entertainment Group, Leyla Kuday for Denise Rich Songs.  Mixed by Serge “Sergeical” Tsai at Platinum Sound Studios.

The post New Single “Can’t Be Life” from Mary J. Blige’s Film, ‘Body Cam’ appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

We’ve seen the stunt person challenge and the Boss Bitch Fight Challenge on TikTok, but those videos have nothing on the latest quarantine entry from LAIKA Studios.

The stop-motion animation studio behind films like Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings and Missing Link, has adapted their various animation styles for their own artistic take on the fight challenge.

@laikastudios

No one ever said animating was safe. ##fightlaikaanimator ##fightchallenge ##animation ##stopmotion ##laikastudios ##laikansathome ##fyp ##foryou

♬ original sound – laikastudios

The video shows off a variety of different stop-motion devies and mediums, including some delightful animation work with fighting ice cubes, angry lemons, sentient shoes, and a little Boxtroll cameo for good measure. Like the beautiful films they make, this LAIKA short features stunning, painstaking animation rendered with wit and soulfulness.

Well done, LAIKA!

(via EW, image: LAIKA Studios/Annapurna Pictures)

• Will germ-zapping robots help Hollywood return to work, or is this the set up for a robot uprising? (via THR)
• This argument for Something’s Gotta Give as the ultimate quarantine romcom is spot on. (via AVClub)
• You got questions about the Dark Side? They’ve got answers. (via CBR)
• Dispatch from Captain Janeway!

On this day in 2001, the Voyager finale “Endgame” aired. On Tuesday, the cast will reunite for a virtual panel in these unprecedented times.

Voyagers: assemble. #StarTrek #Voyager #Endgame pic.twitter.com/ugkJOxsAMQ

— Kate Mulgrew (@TheKateMulgrew) May 23, 2020

• Jeffrey Wright discusses changes to Gotham in the upcoming The Batman. (via io9)
• Check out this interview with voice acting legend/Animaniac Rob Paulsen. (via Collider)
• Meet the Star Fleet employees toiling away on Star Trek: Lower Decks. (via /Film)

This dog is all of us pic.twitter.com/FRkO2uzBap

— Mia Sosa (@miasosaromance) May 22, 2020

Happy Memorial Day Weekend, Mary Suevians!

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—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—