Lil Rel Howery poses at a special screening of the film "The Out-Laws," Monday, June 26, 2023, at the Regal LA Live theaters in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
Wondering what to watch this weekend? This week we have several picks for the spooky season, plus a game show to take your mind off of Halloween.
The Mill - Hulu
Picked by Lawrence Banton
It's the thick of the spooky season and I've watched a pretty good amount of horror and thriller flicks over the last several days. Hulu's The Mill was my latest watch and it really messes with you. Imagine you're going about your day like normal and then you suddenly wake up in an open-air prison. That's the predicament Joe, played by comedian Lil Rel Howery, found himself in. He has to figure out a way to escape this prison and make it home to his very pregnant wife. With Lil Rel as the star of the film, know that you will laugh – often – while your palms sweat in anticipation of his next move.
As of late, and especially during this time of the year, I've learned that my favorite style of movies is campy, fun and mildly frightening Halloween movies. I watched Totally Killer after seeing all over my “FYP” on TikTok. I didnt think the film started out well as it gave the low-budget energy of a Disney Channel movie with insanely bad CGI that I was shocked to see in the year 2023. But…that is half of the charm. Starring Julie Bowen, Kiernan Shipka and Olivia Holt, the film follows the classic "angsty teen who hates her mom until something so outlandish happens that she is forced to realize that she is just a person" trope. But as the film progresses, it really sucks you in, and I found myself glued to the screen until the end.
This offbeat British game show is the perfect supply of clips when you just want to laugh and take your mind off things. Episodes, which you don't have to watch in any order, has comedians compete to solve odd tasks — examples include "Knock Over the Fewest Skittles," "Hide 3 Eggplants In This Room" and "Make the Plastic Bag as Heavy as Possible" — which they often fulfill in even odder ways. If you become a big fan, you can watch full seasons of the show and its international offshoots with a paid subscription to Taskmaster Supermax+, their delightfully named streaming platform.
Based on the Roald Dahl novel, this spooky family-friendly film tells the tale of a boy who is on a trip with his grandmother when he happens upon a convention of witches. He finds out the hard way that the witches want to turn all children into mice. Now it's his job to stop them. I'll point you to the 1990 adaptation, starring Anjelica Hudson, but the 2020 remake, starring Anne Hathaway, is also worth a watch if you're into a more modern aesthetic.
Vacasa is the largest full-service vacation rental property management company in the United States. Today, it announced the launch of a new homeowner app to help users monitor how the company is managing their vacation rental homes. It comes as consumer confidence in travel is on the rise ahead of the holiday season. Vacasa CEO Matt Roberts joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Everyone is stepping into the NFT space, including the Grammys. 'Oneof' is entering a three-year partnership with The Recording Academy to release exclusive NFTs commemorating the 64th, 65th, and 66th Annual Grammy Awards. A portion of the proceeds will also go to The Recording Academy's scholarship fund. Adam Fell, co-founder and board member of Oneof and the president of Quincy Jones Productions, joins Cheddar News to discuss the announcement.
'THEMAGIC5' produces swimming goggles that contour the face using advanced robot technologies and 3D printing. Both of the company's founders Bo Haaber and Rasmus Barfred went on ABC's 'Shark Tank' and caught a $1 million deal. The duo join Cheddar News to talk about what the new funding means for the company.
Molly Hayward, the founder of wellness brand Cora, joins Cheddar News to discuss the company's product, Period Balm, being a CEW Beauty Creators Awards Finalist.
Things are looking up for everyone's favorite crypto. Bitcoin rallied nearly 40% in October, hitting a record high of $66,975. That was the biggest single-month percentage rally since December 2020. On Monday morning, Bitcoin was trading 2.4% higher while Ethereum and Dogecoin were trading at 1.71% and 3.95%. Ben Armstrong, founder of BitBoy Crypto, joins Cheddar News to talk about the latest in the crypto space.
Laura Vozzella, local reporter for The Washington Post, joins Cheddar News to discuss the close gubernatorial race in Virginia and what voters are looking for in each candidate.
The U.S. Supreme Court takes a closer look at the Texas abortion law that was designed by its sponsors to evade constitutional review in federal court. Katie Barlow, journalist and social media editor at SCOTUSblog joins Cheddar News to breakdown what was discussed.
John Paul Mejia, the national spokesperson for the Sunrise Movement, joined Cheddar to talk about what the youth activist group wants to see from President Joe Biden as he attends the COP26 climate summit. Mejia admonished the president for having little to deliver on his own climate agenda domestically while at the conference. "We need the president to follow through with his promises because, frankly, it's a matter of life or death not only for communities here in the United States but also those looking to us around the world," he said.
ESG, or environmental, social, and governance, investing has surged in popularity recently, reaching new record highs in 2020. The goal is to invest in companies and products that advocate for social change, while earning markets returns at the same time. Lauren Dillard, EVP and Head of Investment Intelligence at Nasdaq, joined Cheddar to discuss the ESG investing fad and the potential risks associated with it.
For the second weekend in a row. 'Dune' topped the box office closing out a lucrative October for movie sales. October was the highest-grossing box office month in the COVID-19 era. Mike Reyes, senior movie contributor at Cinemablend joins Cheddar News to talk about future box office predictions.
