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.
The telecom giant AT&T is looking to make online learning more fun for students by engaging them with content from its partners at Warner Bros. Discovery. Mylayna Albright, the assistant vice president of corporate social responsibility for AT&T, joined Cheddar to discuss how the company came about with the free digital e-learning program that it's calling The Achievery. "We knew that once students went home as a result of the pandemic, it was very difficult for them, and we knew from research, specifically through Morning Consult, that parents and teachers realized that probably 80 percent of students felt that they would be more engaged if they had a more entertaining approach," she said.
Sourceful is an all-in-one platform for sourcing sustainable materials. The startup recently raised $20 million in a Series A round led by Index Ventures. Through its platform, Sourceful helps businesses find and design more eco-friendly packaging and reduce the carbon footprint of their supply chains. Wing Chan, Co-Founder and CEO of Sourceful, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
If you did not attend Coachella and spent the weekend scrolling through Tiktok or Instagram, you probably saw a lot influencers comparing Revolve Festival to Fyre Fest.
Content creator Lars Gummer joins Cheddar News to discuss his experience at the festival.
Arthur Madrid, CEO of The Sandbox, and Steven Kolb, CEO of CFDA, join Cheddar News to discuss their partnership focused around fashion in the metaverse.
Actor Niecy Nash’s guest character Simone Clark on ABC’s "The Rookie" is getting a spinoff series of her own after a backdoor pilot arc on the hit cop show. Nash joined Cheddar News to discuss the developments for her character, who will be the oldest rookie in the FBI. "I just think her journey in the world is what's going to be delicious, watching her navigate this new career field, watching her unpack her complicated relationship with her father," she said. Nash also talked about the legacy of her other cop show, "Reno 911," which she called a "culty phenomenon."
Ever walk into a CVS to pick up some gum, maybe some Chapstick, only to get hit with a ridiculously long receipt? It’s no secret that most CVS purchases come with these comically long receipts. But what might surprise you is that these long receipts are part of a marketing plan that's paying off big time for CVS.
Bonnie Wright, who starred in the Harry Potter film series as Ginny Weasely, the youngest of the Weasely clan and Harry Potter’s love interest, is now an author and sustainability activist with her new book, "Go Gently: Actionable Steps to Nurture Yourself and the Planet," which focuses on how to change your habits to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Wright joined Cheddar News to discuss. "I wrote my book to really help to kind of bring the macro-scale system thinking down to our day-to-day life," she said. "They're actually tangible, quite resourceful, practical things that you can implement in your day-to-day life to just help you connect to these issues and just feel empowered when we feel pretty powerless within this situation."
