Vol. 26
No. 17
Pick Hits
At The Movies
Avengers: Endgame
After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity
War, the universe is in ruins. With the help of
remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more in
order to undo Thanos' actions and restore order to the
universe. Adrift in space with no food or water, Tony
Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) sends a
message to Pepper Potts (Gwneyth Palthrow)
as his oxygen supply starts to dwindle.
Meanwhile, the remaining Avengers, Thor (Chris
Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett
Johansson), Captain America (Chris Evans)
and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) must
figure out a way to bring back their vanquished allies
for an epic showdown with Thanos (Josh Brolin),
the evil demigod who decimated the planet and the
universe. The epic conclusion to a 20 plus Marvel-ous
movie arc.
On DVD
Escape Room
Six adventurous strangers travel to a mysterious building to experience the
escape room, a game where players compete to solve a series of puzzles to win
$10,000. What starts out as seemingly innocent fun soon turns into a living
nightmare as the four men and two women discover each room is an elaborate trap
that's part of a sadistic game of life or death. If you’re a fan of the Saw
and Cube franchises, you’ll probably love this film, regardless of the
fact that its PG-13 limitation systematically means no gore.
The Buzz...
Will Smith joined Jaden Smith onstage at week two of
Coachella. The elder Smith made an appearance during Icon, firing
off a verse himself. While the audience applauded, Will hugged his son saying,
“I love this man right here.”
The Saved By The Bell cast had a mini reunion over
the weekend, or at least most of the cast did. Mario Lopez shared
an image of himself with former co-stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar,
Elizabeth Berkley, Tiffani Thiessen and their
spouses at dinner, captioning the special moment "Friends forever."
Vanessa Hudgens has nothing but good things to say about her past
relationship with Zac Efron. The actress, who starred in the
High School Musical franchise alongside Efron, opened up on
their five-year relationship and how it helped her navigate fame in the early
days of stardom. “It started off really organically,” Hudgens, 30, explained of
their off-screen romance, which began in 2005. “I could not have been more
grateful to have that relationship at that time.”
With total grosses this weekend around $110 million, Avengers: Endgame
can’t come soon enough. In attendance, it’s the worst Easter weekend since at
least 1994, a period when the North American population was 20% less than what
it is today.
As has happened many times before, much to the chagrin of HBO, the latest
Game of Thrones episode has leaked online ahead of its
official premiere. Last week’s Season 8 finale made its way onto the internet
four hours early due to a DirecTV error, whereas the second episode began
streaming early on Amazon Prime Video in Germany.
Disney CEO Bob Iger made $65.6 million last year, or
1,424 times that of the median Mouse House employee. If that strikes you as a
bit much, you aren’t alone: Abigail Disney, granddaughter of
Disney co-founder Roy Disney, believes that Iger’s salary is not
only “insane” but is part of a larger problem that has a “corrosive effect on
society.”
Adam Lambert famously launched his career on “American
Idol a decade ago performing a brilliant audition of Queen’s
Bohemian Rhapsody. He wrapped that amazing eighth season performing
with the band on the season finale, and years later earned his current spot as
the front man touring as Queen + Adam Lambert. On April 28, Lambert comes
full circle as he steps into the mentor role guiding the top eight Idol
finalists as they each perform a song from the Queen catalog.
Ezekiel Elliott will Never forget what he looked like when he
dominated the NFL, because the Dallas Cowboys superstar got
his own mug tatted on his leg.
After NCIS star and exec producer Mark Harmon inked a
new deal to return for a 17th season of the flagship drama, CBS has
handed out 11th and sixth season renewals for spinoffs NCIS: Los Angeles
and NCIS: New Orleans.
Streaming giant Netflix has inked a mega three-project deal with global
superstar Beyonce Knowles, worth a reported $60 million, a third of which
went to her recent, much anticipated behind the scenes Coachella concert
special, Homecoming, the first of the trio.