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.
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."
