Farewell to 2021! If you're staying home to celebrate the switchover to 2022, Cheddar's Digital Team recommends some dark humor, bright hopes, throwback thrillers, and a veritable icon of the romantic comedy genre — and no, it's not 'New Year's Eve,' which would be a bit on the nose. Happy New Year!
Picked by Digital Editor Mike Nam
Don't Look Up - Netflix
This dark, absurd satire about scientists (Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence) trying to convince politicians, television personalities, and the global population that a planet-killing comet is about to strike the Earth had some critics poo-pooing the Adam McKay (Step Brothers, The Big Short) comedy as a too-pessimistic allegory regarding climate change. They charged that it's relatively unfunny and insulting to certain political ideologies. But, since the "doomsday glacier" is potentially going to raise sea levels by 10 feet within the next five years, to me, this mixed bag of a film seems understated and still worth a watch.
Station Eleven - HBO Max
But what if the world does end — but we don't end with it? Station Eleven, a limited series based on the bestselling novel by Emily St. John Mandel, imagines a post-apocalyptic future of people rebuilding after the old world comes crashing down. Unfortunately, originally written in 2014, the story imagines civilization grinding to a halt due to a massive flu pandemic, which might not be everyone's cup of tea as 2021 winds down. However, it's reassuring that while there is darkness in the subject matter, the series looks to uplift and provide hope that humanity doesn't JUST survive but is somehow worthy of survival.
Dexter: New Blood - Showtime
Picked by Producer Lawrence Banton
WARNING: If you have not watched the original series, this could be a spoiler. Eight years after Showtime put a bow on its hit show, Dexter, showrunners have returned with a continuation series Dexter: New Blood. It's the same premise just with a twist. First off: Dexter Morgan? He's dead. Sort of. The blood-spatter expert for Miami metro's police department, who doubled as a serial killer of known criminals, had to cut ties with the Sunshine State after his part-time killing spree was nearly exposed. After faking his death, he relocated to rural New York where his "dark passenger" took a backseat for more than a decade. But as the saying goes, the past has a way of creeping up on you. Dexter thought he left it all in Miami, including a son who ends up tracking him down. And if you can remember how his mother died and Dexter's own traumatic experience of witnessing her death, then you can paint a picture of where this series is headed. #SinsOfTheFather
Copshop - Amazon Prime Video (Rent or Purchase)
Picked by Reporter Alex Vuocolo
Copshop, which hit theaters without much fanfare earlier this year, feels like it was teleported from the early 2000s, and I mean that in the best way possible. The film takes place in a remote police station in the Southwest United States, where a man (Frank Grillo) has gotten himself arrested for protection from an assassin who is hot on his tail. Unfortunately for him, the assassin (Gerard Butler) gets himself arrested as well, and naturally chaos ensues on the cell block. Caught between it all is a rookie cop (Alexis Louder), who is just trying to survive the night. The balance of comedy and action is reminiscent of the best Tarantino knockoffs, and the single-location mayhem feels like an homage to John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13. If you're a fan of the action films of yesteryear, Copshop is as unreconstructed as it gets.
When Harry Met Sally… - Showtime
Picked by Sr. News Editor Dina Ross
New Year's Eve makes its debut at the very end of this 1989 classic romantic comedy about two strangers and their not-so-fast friendship. Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) take a post-collegiate road trip together as they both prepare to start their new lives in New York City. Over the next dozen years, as the grads explore love and life in the big city (bringing us this famous NSFW clip), they find out that the Big Apple can feel really small as they run into each other time and time again. If you haven't seen it, or it's been a while, it's a hopeful way to kick off 2022 (whether you're single or not).
Hinge users who have children can opt-in to a $100 stipend up to $25,000 for childcare. Logan Ury, the director of relationship science for the online dating platform, noted the issue as an obstacle for single parents who want to go out on dates. "We have heard that singles with children have a hard time going on dates for one of the reasons being that it's just hard to find childcare and it's hard to be able to afford it," she said. Ury also said that the hot topic among Hinge's users is mental health and the prioritizing of mental health.
Dolly Parton, Eminem, Lionel Richie, and Carly Simon are just a few of the nominees announced for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2022 induction. Results of the voting will be released in May, however, the ceremony date has yet to be announced.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: CEO of HereAfter AI discusses how artificial intelligence can be used to preserve family history and stories, and allow you to 'talk' to loved ones that have passed; Creator of the board game 'Travel Explore Discover' explains how she came up with the idea for this informative and educational board game, and how she's using the proceeds to give back to her community; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'The Humboldt Current.'
According to the Federal Reserve, the investment gap between Black and white Americans has remained substantial, with only 34 percent of Black households joining in on the historic rise in the markets. Stacey Tisdale, the first Black woman to have reported from the NYSE and the CEO and president of Mind Money Media Inc., said that the data might not be as disheartening as it seems. "I think that number is very deceiving. That Federal Reserve study is actually from 2019, and it's very important that we all look beneath that number and look beneath the surface because there is nothing short of an investing revolution going on in the Black community," Tisdale said.
James Vlahos, Co-Founder and CEO of HereAfter AI, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how artificial intelligence can be used to preserve family history and stories, and allow you to 'talk' to loved ones that have passed.
Ava Rathenberg, Creator of the board game 'Travel Explore Discover,' joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how she came up with the idea for this informative and educational board game, and how she's using the proceeds to give back to her community.
An award-winning performance by the LSU Tiger Girls dance team is going viral on TikTok, but like many other viral tiktoks, this one had a larger story to tell. The story goes back to 2021 when for the first time in 22 years, the LSU dance team was informed it could not compete at Universal Dance Association Nationals. The team made their anticipated return to UDA Nationals this year with a performance that delivered a strong and clear message to their university. The LSU Tiger Girls walked away from the competition with their first national championship title in 12 years, redemption against the university that held them back, and of course- millions of new fans and friends on TikTok.
Solid-state battery maker Factorial Energy recently raised $200 million in a Series D round led by Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis. Factorial says the funding will be used to accelerate commercial production and deployment of its solid-state battery technology, which the company says is safer, and offers up to 50% more driving range than current lithium-ion technology. Factorial also has joint development agreements (announced in late 2021) with Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Hyundai, three of the top 10 global automotive manufacturers, to commercialize its batteries. Factorial CEO Siyu Huang joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Former Dolphins coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL over racial discrimination, exposing a long-running problem the NFL has had with diversity in its top coaching and management positions. Eric Mitchell, the president and CEO of public relations and communications company LifeFlip Media, joined Cheddar News to delve into the scandal rocking the pro football world just before the Super Bowl. "There is a problem. If you look at who owns teams in the NFL, it's right, it's a good old boys club, it's a bunch of old white guys," he said. "So, it's exposing something that's been around for ages and now that we're sitting in 2022 has come up."
This April, Madison Square Garden will be hosting the first-ever women's boxing match to headline at the arena in its 140 years of history in boxing. Undisputed lightweight champion, Katie Taylor, and seven-division champion, Amanda Serrano, will go head-to-head for a career-high guaranteed seven-figure purse for both of them. The pair joined Cheddar News to talk about the upcoming "fight of their lives." "I mean, this is the first step I believe," said Serrano. "Unheard of, two women headlining the Garden, we get in the biggest paydays of our career, I hope it continues to break down barriers."
