This image released by Disney+ shows characters, from left, Abby, voiced by Hyein Park, Miriam, voiced by Ava Morse, Priya, voiced by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Mei Lee, voiced by Rosalie Chiang in a scene from "Turning Red." (Disney+ via AP)
This week as the Northern Hemisphere awaits the approach of spring, Cheddar recommends some entertainment to keep you occupied if it's still a little too chilly to cavort outside: "Turning Red," "Gaming Wall Street," "The Next Thing You Eat," and "The Dark Knight."
Turning Red - Disney+
Picked by Digital Editor Mike Nam
Adolescence can be a chaotic, emotional time for anyone — but for 13-year-old Mei, it gets a bit more complicated when she learns that due to her family's mystical legacy, she also begins to transform into a giant red panda when her emotions are heightened. Director Domee Shi, who also created the heartfelt short Bao, makes her feature debut with this Pixar flick set to premiere on Disney+ this Friday. Set in early 2000s Canada and heavily saturated with the kind of boy band pop music of the era, it's sure to be funny, nostalgic, and heartfelt like a lot of previous Pixar projects.
Gaming Wall Street - HBO Max
Picked by Reporter Alex Vuocolo
This business reporter was basically obligated to check out HBO Max's new docuseries about the 2021 meme-stock craze, and I'll say that it was mostly a worthwhile experience. It definitely simplifies the topic (like most pop-docs) and Kieran Culkin's narration is a little on the nose in how it plays up the heroic retail investors' life-or-death battle with Wall Street short-sellers, but it's still a fascinating window into the lives of the oddball Americans who tried to send GameStop and AMC to the moon. If anything, it's an interesting cultural document of a time and place when people said things like "stonks," "YOLO," and "tendies."
The Next Thing You Eat - Hulu
Picked by Sr. News Editor Dina Ross
This week I started watching The Next Thing You Eat, a series from 2021 on Hulu hosted by restaurateur David Chang. It's not about cooking — it's about understanding what we eat and why. I didn't find it preachy, but I did find it interesting. I jumped right in with Episode 4, entitled "Breakfast: An Illusion of Choice." I guess I was expecting to watch beautiful shots of eggs, bacon, and pancakes while I chowed down on my own meal. And yes, there was plenty of beautiful food videography, but Chang brings a unique take on food and dives into the question: why do we eat what we do for breakfast? As a kid who convinced her mom that ice cream for breakfast was better than nothing (ed. note: thanks mom!), I think it's a solid question. I mean, how much difference is there between traditional desserts and traditional breakfast foods like sugary cereal or anything drenched in maple syrup? Chang digs into this idea with a series of experts who have unique opinions and add different viewpoints to the conversation. I watched several other episodes as well, which I thought were put together in an interesting way with, of course, plenty of food beauty shots.
The Dark Knight - Netflix
Picked by Producer Lawrence Banton
Before I jump into why you should re-watch The Dark Knight, I promise this isn't to deter you from watching the latest installment, The Batman — mainly because I haven't even seen it myself. Now, I will say the fact that there is a new Batman movie in theaters, it made me want to revisit my favorite in the collection. Without seeing the new one, I think Christian Bale's performance as Bruce Wayne is unmatched and Heath Ledger's adaption of the Joker has already been etched in history. What I think makes this film so good is the very obvious struggle Batman had with toeing the line between being a hero and outright vigilante. Oh, and the action? The crew made good use of its $185 million budget. I also really enjoyed the emergence of Two-Face, aka Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), and the eventual backstabbing by the Joker. Can you really ever trust a supervillain?
Looking for more to watch? Check out our recommendations from last week and the week before.
Catching you up on the entertainment headlines of the day with Justin Timberlake selling his entire musical catalog to IP management firm Hipgnosis, Ellen DeGeneres airing the final episode of her show, Alanis Morissette making a guest appearance on Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Sour’ tour, and more.
Cheddar recently teamed up with Amazon Bestseller Jamie Hopkins to explore the term 'Rewirement' while highlighting those who didn't let retirement be the end of their journey... Instead, they used it as a new beginning.
Today, Jamie is speaking with Linda Lombri, a former home economist and marketing executive, and Virginia Cornue, a former cultural anthropologist. For them, retirement didn't mean stopping work--it meant re-inventing themselves and living out their dreams of becoming mystery authors, even though neither had written fiction before. Together, Linda and Virginia began an e-book series, the Sandra Troux Mysteries.
Brightseed Co-Founder Sofia Elizondo breaks down what plant bioactives are, and how they're using the latest technology to study human's biological connections with plants.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: Brightseed Co-Founder breaks down what plant bioactives are, and how they're using the latest technology to study human's biological connections with plants; Esper Bionics CEO breaks down how they re creating a mind-controlled bionic hand that guest smarter the more you use it; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Capturing A Black Hole In Our Milky Way.'
The number of births in the U.S. increased last year for the first time in seven years. According to a new federal report, about 3.6 million babies were born in 2021, only about a 1% increase from 2020. Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst for creditcards.com, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss why the pandemic baby boom was more like a baby bust, and how to raise kids while on a tight budget.
Following the mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two adults dead, the debate over gun control has been reignited. While studies have shows most Americans agree on some additional regulations, there hasn't been much legislative traction even as gun violence worsens in the country. Brian Lemek, the executive director of Defend The Vote and the former executive director at Brady PAC for gun control, joined Cheddar to discuss reform efforts. "The lawmakers that we have aren't passing these at the federal level," he said. "That's the problem. We have the wrong people in charge."
The crypto industry is still reeling from Terra's recent crash. The company's blockchain was temporarily halted earlier this month after the collapse of its cryptocurrency Luna (LUNA) and its stablecoin TerraUSD (UST), which led to almost $45 billion being wiped from the tokens' market caps within a week. Now, many are left wondering what Terra's struggles mean for the broader crypto market. Reeve Collins, CEO of the NFT platform BLOCKv, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell from Davos 2022 to discuss.
China's largest ride-hailing company will no longer be listed on the world's largest stock exchange. Didi shareholders voted on Monday to delist from the New York Stock Exchange, less than a year after launching a $4.4 billion IPO with the most significant U.S. share offering by a Chinese company since Alibaba debuted in 2014. Since going public in June of last year, around $70 billion has been wiped from Didi's market value and shares of the company have dropped nearly 90%. Now, Didi is expected to begin preparations to list in Hong Kong. Kevin T. Carter, founder and Chief Investment Officer of EMQQ Global, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
