General view at the venue during Prime Video's "Harlem" After Party at Harlem Parish on December 01, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Amazon Studios)
New Year, new things to stream! Cheddar's Digital Team recommends modern romance in the Big Apple, the instant Disney classic with yet another slapping soundtrack, a ghost story/murder mystery for the chills of January, and the feature-film return of a fearless girl adventurer.
Harlem - Amazon Prime
Picked by Producer Lawrence Banton
Let's kick off 2022 with a New York City love story, Harlem. The story follows a young Columbia University professor named Camille Parks (played by Meagan Good) and the path she takes in life after a heartbreaking split with her longtime boyfriend Ian ( Tyler Lepley) who stumbled upon a job opportunity in Paris. Several years and new relationships later, the two again cross paths in Harlem. So, how does it end up? It's messy to say the very least. Love, new relationships, and familiar sex? Sounds like a disaster worth diving into for your viewing pleasure, if you ask me. Not only does the story follow these two and their friend groups, but the neighborhood of Harlem itself plays a major character in the series, often finding itself at the intersection of authenticity and gentrification.
Encanto - Disney+
Picked by Sr. News Editor Dina Ross
I jumped on the Encanto train last weekend and was not disappointed. The latest animated Disney movie is filled with joy and hope, bright colors, and beautiful music. It tells the tale of a Colombian girl who is the only person in her family without a magic power of her own. The young Mirabel (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz) has an unstoppable optimism, despite constant criticism from her firm grandmother (María Cecilia Botero), which she uses for better or worse. It's a fun, uplifting film that viewers of any age can enjoy.
Seance - Amazon Prime Video, Shudder
Picked by Alex Vuocolo
Most hardcore film fans like to have their best-of lists wrapped up before the turn of the new year, but for me, January has always been a catch-up month — helped in no small part by all the great rankings and round-ups floating around. By that token, I've caught up with several 2021 releases this week, and my favorite was a little horror film called Seance. Directed by Simon Barrett, the screenwriter behind The Guest and You're Next, Seance is a murder mystery crossed with a ghost story, which is set inside a prestigious boarding school. Someone or something is picking off the students one by one, and it's up to a recent transplant (played by Suki Waterhouse) to figure out if it's a ghost or one of the other students. While the concept may sound familiar, the filmmakers give it a fresh twist with some excellent casting, sharp dialogue, and surprising plot turns. Overall, Seance is a modest but effective horror flick, well worth cozying up with on a cold winter night.
Hilda and the Mountain King - Netflix
Picked by Digital Editor Mike Nam
**SPOILERS** if you haven't caught up with the series.
This absolutely delightful animated show about an adventurous girl named Hilda, who grows up in a fantastical woodland but eventually moves to the walled city of Trollberg, ended on a cliffhanger in Season 2. This new feature-length special on Netflix picks up where the series left off with the young adventurer magically swapped with a troll changeling and forced to navigate a new world while a conflict between the maltreated magical creatures and the humans of Trollberg gathers steam. The entire show should be a family staple for years to come, and the movie alone is a 90-minute, emotional lesson about a mother's love and true tolerance rising out of a history of oppression and fear. Season 3 is also still in the works!
Looking for more to watch? Check out our recommendations from last week and the week before.
The Winter Olympics showcase our favorite and most picturesque winter sports: from ski jumping, to figure skating, to ice hockey. But don't forget about doubles luge, the internet's favorite Olympic sport. Join us as we explore the history of this intimate display and reveal why doubles luge is so much more than a meme.
Jet Tila, Food Network star and author of '101 Thai Dishes You Need to Cook Before You Die,' joins Cheddar News to talk about his new cookbook that's helping people cook authentic Thai recipes.
Over the years we have heard a number of ways people can invest. However, have you thought about how you could invest in sneakers? Well, one platform says you can do that and more.RARE is an investment platform for sneakers that allows users to easily invest in the sneaker culture by giving them the opportunity to buy and trade shares of rare shoes and letting users own some of the most sought-after kicks at a fractional level. Rare says the goal is to empower the communities who made sneakers what they are today and give everyone a piece of the pie. CEO of RARES, Gerome Sapp, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
In 2022, the FAA has received 323 reports of unruly passengers so far. Soon, flying could soon be limited to cooperative passengers only. Delta Airlines has asked the Department of Justice to put unruly travelers on a 'no-fly' list. Bryan Del Monte, president of the Aviation Agency, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
New York City’s tourism industry has seen a bumpy recovery from the pandemic, as the omicron surge delivers yet another blow to one of the world’s top tourist destinations. The arts and entertainment sector has been one of the hardest hit, with Broadway shows canceling performances once again after an industry-wide shutdown. Chris Heywood, executive vice president of global communications at NYC & Company, joined Cheddar's Fast Forward to talk about why he's confident the theater district - and the rest of the city - will eventually return to its pre-pandemic glory.
More than 70 religious leaders have come together to sign a letter to urge Mark Zuckerberg and Meta to halt plans for Instagram for Kids. The signers claim that this new platform, currently on pause, could cause spiritual harm to young people. Lucy Kidwell, the screen-free week coordinator for the nonprofit that organized the letter, Fairplay, joined Cheddar News to discuss the issue on Safer Internet Day. "It's not necessarily the content, even, that's on these platforms, but more the structure of the app itself," she said. "It's all focused on comparison, promoting yourself, putting forward this image of perfection and this beautiful life that's really harmful to kids who can't really separate what's real and what's fake and who may not be emotionally mature enough to handle something so complicated."
Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama are set to begin voting to unionize for a second time after workers at the facility in the town of Bessemer overwhelmingly voted against forming a union during an election early last year; but in November, the National Labor Relations Board overturned the vote, upholding a union challenge of the results which argued that Amazon undermined the conditions for a fair election. Another round of ballots will now be mailed out to works at the warehouse for a so-called re-run election. Director of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University John Logan and National Field Director for Our Revolution Mike Oles joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
David Daley, author of the book 'Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy,' joins Cheddar News to discuss redistricting battles taking place across the U.S.
