Rosamund Pike attends the World Premiere of "The Wheel of Time" at BFI IMAX Waterloo on November 15, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage)
This week, Cheddar's Digital Team recs the return of Los Angeles real estate drama in Selling Sunset, Amazon Prime's fantasy epic The Wheel of Time, a revisit of Bond's Quantum of Solace, and Adam Sandler's parenting hijinks in Big Daddy.
Selling Sunset: Season 4 - Netflix
Picked by Sr. News Editor Dina Ross
Next week we'll have a special holiday edition of What to Stream for you, so I'm going long this week. Last weekend was about getting ready for Tiger King 2, which debuted on Netflix Wednesday. Next Wednesday, my absolute favorite reality series of the pandemic is back for its fourth season: Selling Sunset. The series follows some of L.A.'s most fabulous real estate brokers as they try to hawk homes to the ultrawealthy. Along the way, of course, we have love, loss, and lots and lots of wine. Can't wait to see what the team at The Oppenheim Group has been up to, especially Chrishell, who wrapped Season 3 with an absolutely heartbreaking and unexpected turn of events.
The Wheel of Time - Amazon Prime
Picked by Digital Editor Mike Nam
As a teen many, many years ago, I picked up a paperback called The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. I thought it was the start of a trilogy (all the rage back then) called The Wheel of Time. little did I know it was the beginning of a massive, multi-book series that would outlive its original author and see its completion 23 years later. Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin still has time to meet that total output challenge I guess, but at least his series was already adapted to TV. Jeff Bezos famously would go on to direct Amazon Prime to match prestige shows like HBO's GoT, and voila! The Wheel of Time IP was purchased and adapted into this series (already greenlit for Season 2) premiering on November 19. Starring Rosamund Pike as a powerful magic user searching for a youthful Chosen One destined to save — and destroy — the world, the setting is as rich and complex as Martin's series but admittedly more fantastical.
Quantum of Solace - Amazon Prime Video
Picked by Reporter Alex Vuocolo
For me, the Daniel Craig-era of Bond films is a bit of a wash. I like certain elements of them: the hard-nosed action, Craig's steely, wounded visage, the beautiful location photography. At the same time, I find the constant references to backstory tiresome. Bond movies used to be standalone adventures. Now everything has to be connected like it's the Bond Cinematic Universe or something. Anyway, I digress. If you're looking to prepare for the latest Bond film, No Time to Die, I'd check out Quantum of Solace, which is perhaps the most underrated in the Craig cycle. For one, it's comparatively short at under two hours, and it moves at the pace of a chase movie. Bond's usual globe-trotting is pushed into overdrive, as he recklessly pursues the people behind the murder of his wife in Casino Royale. It's a tad brutal for a Bond flick, but it works on its own terms. Word to the wise, Casino Royale and Skyfall are also available on Prime Video, and No Time to Die is available as well for a higher rental price.
Big Daddy - Amazon Prime Video
Picked by Producer Lawrence
Small confession: I sometimes look to films and TV series for inspiration when it comes to apartment hunting. That brought me to this week's pick of Adam Sandler's classic 1999 film Big Daddy. I sat on my couch this week thinking of random movie apartments, and it hit me. How did Sonny Koufax, Sandler's character, afford that massive loft apartment in Manhattan? What exactly did he do for a living? I had to go back and rewatch, and then I recalled that his father was a loaded attorney, bankrolling his degenerate son's lifestyle. I also recalled how hilarious it was to watch a man care for a kid that was essentially left on his doorstep by a stork — in this instance, a caseworker. Then there was the classic "hip hop anonymous" scene that forced tears out of my eyes (because of the humor and not because Rob Schneider's character was actually illiterate). It was a nice stroll down memory lane and just even more impressive that Koufax was able to find such a good apartment in Manhattan.
Looking for more to watch? Check out our recommendations from last week and the week before.
Amazon is betting that ammonia could be the fuel of the future, participating in a Series A round for the Brooklyn-based company Amogy in December. Amogy aims to de-carbonize transportation with a clean energy system that uses ammonia as a renewable fuel. Amogy is partnering with Amazon on its first commercial product - an ammonia-powered cargo-shipping vessel. Amogy CEO Seonghoon Woo joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
One of the world's largest transport companies is kicking off Black History Month with a new initiative aimed at the next generation of business leaders. Today, FedEx announced the launch of its Student Ambassador Program. Participants selected from eight historically black colleges and universities will receive career guidance from FedEx executives. The program is part of FedEx's ongoing commitment to HBCUs and will also help the company expand its pipeline for diverse talent. Cheddar News welcomes senior vice president at FedEx, Jenny Robertson, and Jerryl Briggs, President of Mississippi Valley State University, to discuss.
"Sing 2" has overthrown "Spider-Man: No Way Home" as the number one film at the UK box office. The animated sequel brought in $8.1 million, in just its two first weekends. However, "No Way Home" is still on track to beat "Avatar" as the number one grossing movie of all time.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America has been a driving force for youth mentorship since 1904. The nonprofit organization is launching its annual Big Draft campaign this month in partnership with the NFL, and Artis Stevens, the first Black CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, joined Cheddar to discuss the push for adding more "Bigs" as mentors on his one-year anniversary leading the non-profit organization. "While the NFL is recruiting and drafting more players, they're also helping us to draft more mentors and, particularly, men all the way from across February to all the way to April of this year," Stevens explained.
The Supreme Court will reconsider race-based affirmative action in college admissions. The court will examine admissions policies at Harvard University and The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, which count the race of applicants as a factor in admissions. The court has upheld affirmative action policies in the past, saying it helps to create more diverse student bodies. However, the conservative Supreme Court could be skeptical and even possibly hostile to such policies. Nick Anderson, Higher Education Writer, Washington Post joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
The value of most cryptocurrencies have plummeted in recent months since reaching all-time highs in November, wiping out more than $1 trillion in value globally. The steep crash has some talking about the possibility of a crypto winter, a term referring to a prolonged bearish period where asset prices persistently fall over many months. This all comes as the Fed is expected to raise interest rates, and the Biden administration is working on an executive order to regulate Bitcoin and other assets. Josh Goodbody, COO of Qredo, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the crypto crash, and how the industry might recover from it.
Recent data reveals that streaming giants are struggling to retain subscribers in the months following a major release.
According to data from Antenna, subscriber trends show that users will subscribe to a given streaming service just to watch a particular show, and then cancel those subscriptions shortly after. This comes as the streaming space continues to heat up as new entrants crowd the space. Jon Christian, Founding Partner + Digital Supply Chain Leader at OnPrem joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
The EU relaxed its Covid travel restrictions for vaccinated individuals among the union's 27 member states, doing away with testing or quarantine requirements for travelers. This comes soon after the World Health Organization said the omicron variant could help make the pandemic more manageable. The new rules take effect February 1st. Bryce Conway, Founder, 10xTravel joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
If you're in China you may have noticed that the 1999 film "Fight Club" which features Brad Pitt has somehow got itself a new ending. In the new ending on the streaming service Tencent, the narrator is killed and the explosions are replaced with a black screen saying "the police arrested criminals".It's unclear as to exactly why the changes were made. However, it is the latest example of China playing by its own rules when it comes to entertainment and attempting to control everything its citizens watch. Media Reporter at Axios, Sarah Fisher, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
