Dave Chappelle addressed a number of contentious subjects in his newest “Saturday Evening Stay” monologue, focusing totally on Kanye West’s current antisemitic feedback.
In a prolonged stand-up set, Chappelle name-checked former President Donald Trump and Senate candidate Herschel Walker – and in addition might have alluded to the detrimental response to jokes he’s made about transgender individuals.
Earlier than he started his routine, he unfolded a small piece of paper and browse from it: “‘I denounce antisemitism in all its types. And I stand with my buddies within the Jewish neighborhood.’ And that, Kanye, is how you purchase your self a while.”
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On the subject of West, Chappelle stated he sometimes approached the rapper when West was embroiled in an issue – however this time, Chappelle stated, he waited to look at the response to West’s antisemitic statements. Chappelle additionally joked that “Kanye bought in a lot hassle, Kyrie bought in hassle,” referencing the NBA star suspended by the Brooklyn Nets for feedback after sharing a hyperlink to an antisemitic film on social media.
Chappelle stated he may see how West would “undertake the delusion that the Jews run present enterprise,” saying it’s “not a loopy factor to suppose – however it’s a loopy factor to say out loud in a local weather like this.”
He went on: “I do know the Jewish individuals have been by way of horrible issues everywhere in the world, however you’ll be able to’t blame that on Black Individuals. You simply can’t.”
In an obvious nod to the backlash some comics obtain when audiences discover their jokes offensive, Chappelle ended the monologue by admitting to the viewers he now not loved performing in entrance of enormous crowds, saying “it shouldn’t be this scary to speak about something, it makes my job extremely tough.”
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“I hope they don’t take something away from me,” he stated. “Whoever they’re.”
Chappelle has made express jokes about trans ladies’s our bodies and misgendered trans individuals in a number of stand-up specials launched in the previous couple of years. Criticism of his feedback shortly mounted in 2021 following the discharge of his multi-million greenback Netflix particular, “The Nearer,” offending LGBTQ advocates and main some Netflix workers to protest the corporate and name for the particular to be eliminated.
Netflix stood by the particular, which was later nominated for 2 Emmys. Chappelle addressed the criticism on tour shortly after the discharge of his particular, telling his viewers he was prepared to speak with trans critics however was not “bending to anyone’s calls for.”
Opening in theaters on March 21st, ‘The Assessment’ is the sort of thoughtful, low-key but sometimes too dense science fiction movie that largely stays in the indie space since it’s unlikely to attract a giant blockbuster crowd.
Yet it’s somehow reassuring that in an age where IP is king and originality can be scarce at your local cinema, something like this can still hit screens.
Related Article: Alicia Vikander and Director Fleur Fortuné Talk ‘The Assessment’
‘The Assessment’ probably works best if you like your science fiction with some brain matter behind it; but there is also a deep well of emotion running here.
In the mold of Aldous Huxley in particular, its story of a climate-ravaged world that is struggling to survive in the wake of enormous damage done by mankind, it also posits a society that has adapted to dwindling resources by development of a miracle drug that can ward off disease and slow down aging.
But it’s also a tightly-controlled authoritarian regime where dissent is punishable by exile to the savage wastes outside the habitable domes where those who have the resources and are willing to both contribute and obey dwell.
In reality, though, the movie’s focus is much tighter –– it’s the tale of a couple who wish to have a child (reproduction through any method than some asexual fertilization process following a strict assessment period is forbidden) struggling with the unusual demands of the woman sent to test their suitability to be parents at all.
What transpires is a chaotic, testing battle of wills between the two prospective parents and the assessor, who tests them in ways they probably weren’t expecting; this is more than just checking to see if they’ve baby-proofed the wall sockets.
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Script and Direction
Fleur Fortuné, director of ‘The Assessment’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Written by Nell Garfath Cox, Dave Thomas (who collectively work as filmmaking team Mr. and Mrs. Thomas) along with John Donnelly, this is a cold, thoughtful movie that tells its story with enough human emotion to keep it from feeling like a film school test case. We’re introduced to the central pair through their daily lives as scientists and lovers, but the plot proper doesn’t kick in until the Assessor, played by Alicia Vikander arrives.
As director, music video helmer Fleur Fortune, who has also worked on short films, brings a careful touch to the film, which walks the line of being too intellectual with some skill. She has a keen eye for a visual and also gets great work out of some very good actors. There’s a real melancholy to the movie, even as the color palette is warm and inviting.
Elizabeth Olsen brings quiet grace to Mia, one half of the couple looking to reproduce, yet when scenes call for her to explode with anger, frustration or sadness, she’s more than up to those tasks also.
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It’s Mia’s journey we’re truly on, from meeting her as a young girl abandoned by her mother to the grown woman who is willing to go to whatever lengths to both help society prosper and achieve her own aims, but comes up against some very tough home truths.
As Aaryan, Himesh Patel is dedicated and subtle, a man who will do anything for his wife, but who finds himself conflicted when the challenge of having the assessor in their home becomes all too strange.
Yet beyond the main pair, this is really Alicia Vikander’s film on a pure performance level. Playing Virginia, the state-appointed assessor whose task it is to decide across seven days whether Mia and Aaryan should get to have a child, she gives a tour-de-force acting class.
Switching from bureaucratically efficient to childishly wild in just a few scenes, Vikander here throws herself into the role and brings a truly complicated person to life.
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Stealing the one scene in which she appears is Minnie Driver as Evie, who is old enough to remember the time before the world was ravaged and is soundly cynical about humanity’s chances now, not to mention scathingly critical of those who wish to bring more people into it.
It’s a superb turn from the actor, who spins a vision of a world so bleak that you both recoil from it but sometimes find yourself wishing the movie could expand to show it.
‘The Assessment’ will certainly be a tough watch for some; not just because of what happens in the movie, but also because of the subjects it addresses, including the control of women, the battle for resources and the challenges that parents of any type face.
Yet if you allow yourself to sink into its world, you’ll be rewarded.
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“Would you pass?”
R1 hr 54 minApr 8th, 2025
Showtimes & Tickets
In a climate change-ravaged world, a utopian society optimizes life, including parenthood assessments. A successful couple faces scrutiny by an evaluator over seven… Read the Plot
What is the plot of ‘The Assessment’?
In the near future, prospective parents must pass an initial test to prove their suitability for parenthood, and then endure a seven-day live-in visit from a facilitator known as the assessor who will put them through the wringer in all kinds of imaginable and unimaginable situations where, at the end, they will either get a passing grade — or not. Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) and Aaryan (Himesh Patel) are assigned an assessor named Virginia (Alicia Vikander), and as they begin the uncomfortable tests, their relationship begins to crumble.
It was more of a “ho-hum” than a “heigh-ho” at the box office this weekend, as Walt Disney Co.’s latest live-action remake “Snow White” arrived in theaters.
The movie, which stars Rachel Zegler as the titular princess and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, opened in the U.S. and Canada to a lackluster $43 million in ticket sales, landing it in first place at the domestic box office, according to studio estimates. Prior to its release, “Snow White” was expected to haul in $45 million to $55 million in its opening weekend, according to analyst and pre-sale ticket estimates.
The film will have to have to do lots of business in the coming weeks to break even. It cost an estimated $250 million to make, before marketing expenses. The movie grossed $44 million overseas for a total global debut of $87 million.
The “Snow White” opening number is less than that of Tim Burton’s re-imagining of “Dumbo” in 2019, which went on to gross $353 million worldwide and was considered a disappointment. “Snow White” received a grade of “B+” from audience polling firm CinemaScore, indicating a tepid response from moviegoers.
It has been a slow first quarter at the box office. So far, there has been a downturn compared with results from last year, analysts have said. It’s likely that the full first-quarter box office numbers will finish lower compared with the same time period a year ago, which were already significantly weaker than the pre-pandemic norm.
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Though the beginning of 2024 started off slowly, the latter part of the first quarter saw blockbuster hits like “Dune: Part Two” and “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” each of which brought in at least $80 million in their opening weekends.
“To say that the stakes for ‘Snow White’ are only on Disney ignores the fact that this entire industry was expecting a better first quarter,” said Daniel Loria, senior vice president at the Boxoffice Co., which tracks theatrical data. “We really need to finish this month on the strongest note possible.”
“Snow White” faced a tough road to its opening weekend.
The film was hit with racist backlash after Zegler, who is of Colombian and Polish descent, was announced as the lead character. Then, die-hard fans criticized her for saying the new film would update tropes from the original 1937 animated movie, including the emphasis on Snow White’s romance with Prince Charming.
The film has also faced questions about its depiction of little people and its leading actors’ viewpoints on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza; Zegler has been an outspoken advocate for Palestinians, while Gadot has voiced support for Israel, where she was born.
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It’s unclear how much the external controversy around the film factored into its opening weekend results.
But Disney’s strategy of mining its animated film library for live-action remakes shows no signs of stopping. The Burbank media and entertainment company plans to release a live-action version of “Lilo & Stitch” in May.
The remakes are a risk-management plan of sorts — the films retell familiar stories while also giving Disney a chance, in some cases, to revise problematic aspects from the original animated movies, such as giving some of the princesses more agency and diversifying the casts.
Updating the original animated films also allows Disney to redirect attention to these characters. The company can then sell new merchandise from the live-action films and pump up interest and familiarity with the characters.
That translates to other parts of Disney’s vast empire, such as theme parks, streaming services and Broadway plays, said Peter Kunze, a professor of communication at Tulane University and author of “Staging a Comeback: Broadway, Hollywood, and the Disney Renaissance.”
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“By doing these live-action remakes, it’s kind of like a defibrillator to the franchise,” he said. ”It’s not only the theatrical distribution revenue stream that is dependent on this film; it’s often feeding into these other aspects of the company.”
Though fans have sometimes complained about the frequency of live-action remakes compared with original stories, these films can be big money-makers. The 2017 “Beauty and the Beast” grossed more than $1 billion worldwide, as did 2010’s “Alice in Wonderland,” 2019’s “The Lion King,” and 2019’s “Aladdin.”
And even if opening weekend is slow, these films can have a longer tail with audiences. “Snow White,” for instance, is coming at a time when many children will be on spring break, which means harried parents may be looking for things for their kids to do.
There’s little competition in the family movie space right now, with Warner Bros. Pictures “A Minecraft Movie” still two weeks away. StudioCanal’s “Paddington in Peru” (distributed by Sony in the U.S.), and Universal Pictures’ “Dog Man” came out weeks ago.
Last year’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” opened in December to a so-so $35 million domestically, but ended up grossing more than $717 million at the global box office. Family films can take a while to build buzz, and often don’t have the same types of fans who will clamor to see it in theaters as soon as possible, Loria said.
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“This weekend will only tell us part of the story of ‘Snow White,’ ” he said. “The true measure of a performance of a movie like this happens in week three, week four, week five.”
Uzo Aduba, center, stars as detective Cordelia Cupp in Netflix’s The Residence.
Erin Simkin/Netflix
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Erin Simkin/Netflix
I love a whodunit – especially one with a light comic touch. Rian Johnson’s Knives Outand Glass Onionare two of my most rewatched recent films, and they owe a great deal to everything from Agatha Christie to Sherlock Holmes to Columbo to the criminally underseen film The Last of Sheila.
So now, imagine my delight at Netflix’s The Residence, a high-energy comic whodunit set at the White House.
The story is this: One night, during a state dinner honoring Australia, A.B. Wynter, the head usher of the White House — played by Giancarlo Esposito — is found dead. The chief of the D.C. police brings in the brilliant detective he trusts most: Cordelia Cupp, played with verve and poise by the wonderful Uzo Aduba. Looking every bit the tweedy detective, only far more stylish, Cupp sweeps in, won’t let anyone leave, and starts to question witnesses. FBI agent Edwin Park (Randall Park), assigned to help, can only try to keep up with her.
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So who did it? Wynter had many conflicts with many people, we will learn. Was it the president’s top advisor, played by Ken Marino? Was it the loyal staffer, played by Susan Kelechi Watson, who was set to succeed Wynter as head usher? Maybe it was the president’s loathed brother, played by Jason Lee, or the temperamental pastry chef played by Bronson Pinchot. What about the boozy butler, the president’s mother-in-law, the social secretary, or the engineer?
The show will tell you. The answer will be fair; the murderer is not a random person who appears at the last minute. The evidence makes sense, and much of it has been there all along. It is, in other words, a properly executed whodunit, with all the pleasures that suggests. You will get red herrings and misdirections, but Cordelia is a reliable narrator and only says what she knows to be true. She’s an avid birder (just like President Teddy Roosevelt, she points out), so you know she is detail-oriented and patient. She’s also wickedly funny, but her delivery is usually dry as a bone.
At the same time, we also get scenes from the congressional hearings about the investigation that happen later, which take testimony in preparation for the release of a report. That might be one more framing device than the show needs, but Al Franken and Eliza Coupe are funny as they play senators bickering disagreeably.
There are eight episodes; the last is almost 90 minutes long, and it’s the segment in every great story of this kind where the detective gathers all the suspects, explains the crime, and announces the killer. The show probably doesn’t need 90 minutes of that; it could have used a trim in this section. That’s the closest thing to a beef that I have. But they’re being true to the roots of the genre by allowing Aduba to make a meal of it.
There’s a lot of respect for tradition here; the episodes have titles that pay tribute to other murder mysteries — there are episodes called “Knives Out” and “Dial M for Murder.” (And one called “The Fall of the House of Usher,” which is a good enough pun that it’s easy to forgive even if the original is not quite a murder mystery.) A good execution of a beloved formula is a wonderful thing, and you won’t regret letting this one suck you in.
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