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.
Markets closed the day mixed, and well off their lows of the day following a market meltdown earlier in the session. The Nasdaq staged a comeback late in the day, even amid ongoing worries about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. Doug Flynn, certified financial planner and co-founder of Flynn Zito Capito, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the markets' close and what's driving the major indexes.
Two companies recently announced a new partnership aimed at addressing the growing demand to borrow against crypto - digital assets capital markets firm CrossTower is partnering with commercial bank, BankProv. The companies are launching a crypto lending platform that will allow Bitcoin miners to receive loans to invest in crypto mining equipment. The companies say the program also addresses the difficulty of breaking into crypto mining due to the high cost. CrossTower research analyst Martin Gaspar joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Next-gen social sports platform Break the Love recently raised $2.5 million in seed funding. Break the Love's platform and iOS app allows users to discover and book group-based tennis activities, to either learn, train, or compete. The new company has already gotten support from a few big names in the world of tennis, including the coach of Naomi Osaka, as well as the United States Tennis Association and the brand Wilson. Break the Love founder and CEO Trisha Goyal joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
As the Omicron variant continues to sweep across the country. The US Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments at the end of this week on whether or not the Biden administration can force private companies to vaccinate or test millions of their employees. In addition, the National Nurses United has spearheaded legal action to protect nurses and health care workers, patients, and the public while on the job. President of the National Nurses Union, Zenei Cortez, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
China's ongoing crackdown of its own entertainment industry has been raising eyebrows for once now. With the ruling Communist Party instructing media companies to boycott immoral and overly entertaining stars. But the country has gone even further. Now experts warn that this could lead to further issues such as gender-based violence. Professor at the Institute of Sociology at National Tsinghua University, Hsiu-Hua Shen, and Associate Professor of Politics at Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame Joshua Eisenman, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Today marks one year since the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol. The Country watched as supporters of then-President Trump stormed what was assumed to be the most secure building in the country in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 Election. Several lawmakers, including the Vice President, could be seen ducking down as they feared for their lives. Democratic Michigan Representative Dan Kildee, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Bed Bath & Beyond delivered disappointing fiscal third-quarter results for 2022. Shares initially dove more than 9% in premarket trading on the news but finished the day up nearly 8%. Bed Bath & Beyond has been a meme-stock target for online investors in the past -- so was meme-stock mania a factor in the recent stock movement for the company? Jaime Rogozinski, the founder of the subreddit WallStreetBets, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell for more, as his forum helped spark the meme stock phenomena. He also discussed some decentralized finance services and trends for the retail investor to watch for in 2022.
Digital medical care provider Pear Therapeutics rang the closing bell on the Nasdaq Friday and President and CEO Dr. Corey McCann, joined Cheddar to talk about how the company plans to grow the business of software-based therapeutics and how the first FDA authorized prescription digital therapeutics company will go about treating illnesses like insomnia and addiction. "These really are pieces of software. In many cases, they're apps and in the cases of our addiction products, these are based on something called cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT," he said. "These products change the patient's brain circuitry to help them be abstinent, to help them stay in treatment, and that's exactly what we see in randomized clinical trials and that's what we see in the real world." He also addressed the ongoing mental health crises brought on by the pandemic. **copy updated to remove IPO information as Pear Therapeutics went public in December**
James Tattersall, director of sales and marketing for Lake Nona Wave Hotel, talks about the hotel's initiatives to foster diversity and how these amenities champion inclusivity in the Orlando area.
