Lifestyle
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is ridiculous. It’s also ridiculously entertaining
Scott Garfield/Paramount Photos Company
In one of many extra memorable traces within the authentic Prime Gun, Maverick will get chewed out by a superior who tells him, “Son, your ego’s writing checks your physique cannot money.”
Generally I ponder if Tom Cruise took that putdown as a private problem. No film star appears to work tougher or push himself additional than Cruise nowadays. He simply retains going and going, whether or not he is scaling skyscrapers in a brand new Mission: Unimaginable journey or displaying a bunch of fresh-faced pilots the way it’s performed within the ridiculous and ridiculously entertaining Prime Gun: Maverick.
Cruise was in his early 20s when he first performed Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, the cocky younger Navy pilot with the aviator sun shades, the Kawasaki bike and the necessity for velocity. Within the sequel, he is as boastful and insubordinate as ever: Now a Navy check pilot in his late 50s, Maverick nonetheless is aware of find out how to tick off his superiors, as we see in an thrilling opening sequence the place he pushes a brand new airplane past its limits. Partly as punishment, he is ordered to return to TOPGUN, the elite pilot-training faculty, and practice its greatest and brightest for an impossibly harmful new mission.
One in all his trainees is a hotheaded younger pilot known as Rooster, performed by Miles Teller. Rooster is the son of Maverick’s beloved wingman, Goose, who tragically died whereas flying with Maverick within the first Prime Gun. Maverick’s lingering guilt over Goose’s loss of life impacts his relationship with Rooster; so does his need to guard Rooster from hurt, which generates some suspense over whether or not he’ll find yourself selecting the younger man for the task.
And so the three screenwriters of Prime Gun: Maverick — together with Cruise’s common Mission: Unimaginable writer-director, Christopher McQuarrie — have taken the threads of the unique and spun them into an intergenerational male weepie, a dad film of actually epic proportions. They’re tapping into nostalgia for the unique, whereas aiming for brand spanking new ranges of emotional grandeur. To that finish, the soundtrack includes a Woman Gaga tune, “Maintain My Hand.” It is nowhere close to as iconic a chart topper as the unique film’s “Take My Breath Away,” however tugs at your heartstrings nonetheless.
A lot of the plot is unabashedly spinoff of the primary Prime Gun. As soon as once more, Maverick runs afoul of growling authority figures, right here performed by Ed Harris and Jon Hamm. Cruise’s former co-star Kelly McGillis is nowhere to be seen, however Maverick does get one other perfunctory love curiosity, a bartender named Penny, properly performed by Jennifer Connelly regardless of the thanklessness of the position.
What’s fascinating about Prime Gun: Maverick is the way it is not like its predecessor, principally when it comes to fashion. The primary Prime Gun, directed on a comparatively low price range by the late Tony Scott, mixed the aesthetics of a navy recruitment video with a few of the ripest homoerotic imagery ever seen in a significant Hollywood film. For higher or worse, the sequel, directed by Joseph Kosinski of Tron: Legacy and Oblivion, is a a lot tamer, slicker, classier affair. Maverick now not struts round in towels and tighty-whities, although he can nonetheless fly a airplane like no person’s enterprise.
The motion sequences are way more thrilling and immersive than within the authentic. You’re feeling such as you’re actually within the cockpit with these pilots, and that is since you are: The actors underwent intense flight coaching and flew precise planes throughout capturing. In that respect, Prime Gun: Maverick appears like a throwback to a misplaced period of sensible moviemaking, earlier than computer-generated visible results took over Hollywood. You begin to perceive why Cruise, the inventive pressure behind the film, was so pushed to make it: In telling a narrative the place older and youthful pilots butt heads, and state-of-the-art F-18s duke it out with rusty previous F-14s, he is attempting to indicate us that there is room for the previous and the brand new to coexist. He is additionally advancing a case for the enduring attraction of the flicks and their energy to move us with viscerally gripping motion and large, sweeping feelings.
Which brings us to the film’s strongest scene, during which Val Kilmer briefly reprises his position as Iceman, Maverick’s former nemesis-turned-friend. Kilmer is, in some respects, Cruise’s reverse: a onetime star whose profession by no means fairly discovered its groove, and who’s been beset by well being points lately, together with the lack of his voice attributable to throat most cancers. His soulful presence right here provides this high-flying melodrama the grounding it wants. Cruise could also be this film’s immortal star, however it’s Kilmer’s aching efficiency that takes your breath away.
Lifestyle
This wholesome banger from a group of Irish kids is the spark you need
Creative Ireland
YouTube
Music fans, have we got a new, totally infectious bop for you: “The Spark,” a song created by a group of kids in Cork, Ireland. “I searched for my spark and I found it,” they exuberantly sing over a vibrant techno beat. They let their rhymes fly, too: “Making bangers at a young age,” one girl raps, “My pen setting fire to the page.”
As one listener enthused on X: “They had no business putting out something this deadly.”
“The Spark” was created by Rhyme Island, a youth rap initiative in Cork. The kids worked with a local producer named GMCBeats and The Kabin Studio, a music and creativity-focused nonprofit in the Knocknaheeny suburb of Cork.
They made the song in advance of Cruinniú na nÓg, an annual “national free day of creativity for young people” in Ireland. It features over 1,000 free events for kids and teenagers across Ireland, sponsored by the Irish government and supported by the Irish public broadcaster RTE. This year’s Cruinniú na nÓg activities take place on Saturday, June 15.
Rhyme Island’s video for “The Spark” was released by Creative Ireland, the Irish government initiative behind Cruinniú na nÓg. The video is just as cheery and wholesome as the song: The band of kids bounce down the aisle of a school bus and zip along a Cork sidewalk, decked out in colorful bucket hats and shades.
While “The Spark” does not yet seem to be available on digital platforms, Rhyme Island has a playlist of their other work on SoundCloud.
Lifestyle
'9 to 5' Star Dabney Coleman Dead at 92
Dabney Coleman — an absolute legend in Hollywood best known for his villainous turn in “9 to 5” — has died … TMZ has learned.
The actor’s daughter, Quincy Coleman, tells TMZ … “My Father, Dabney Wharton Coleman, took his last earthly breath peacefully and exquisitely in his home on Thursday May 16th, 2024 at 1:50 PM.”
She adds, “My father crafted his time here on earth with a curious mind, a generous heart, and a soul on fire with passion, desire and humor that tickled the funny bone of humanity. As he lived, he moved through this final act of his life with elegance, excellence and mastery.”
Finally, Quincy says … “A teacher, a hero, and a king, Dabney Coleman is a gift and blessing in life and in death as his spirit will shine through his work, his loved ones and his legacy…eternally.”
A cause of death was not revealed. However, Dabney reportedly canceled an April appearance at the Chiller Theatre in New Jersey over his ailing health.
In addition to his memorable work in “9 to 5,” Dabney famously played the sexist director in the 1982, Dustin Hoffman-led comedy, “Tootsie.”
He notably had almost 200 acting credits on his resume, appearing in a number of TV shows and films over the years … including “You’ve Got Mail,” “WarGames,” “Buffalo Bill, “Recess,” etc.
His last acting credit was for an episode of “Yellowstone,” in which he acted opposite Kevin Costner while playing John Dutton Sr.
Throughout his 60-year career, Dabney was nominated for 6 Emmy awards — winning once for his work in 1987’s “Sworn to Silence.” He also won a Golden Globe in 1988 for “The Slap Maxwell Story” and nabbed 2 SAG Awards alongside the ensemble of “Boardwalk Empire.”
TMZ.com
AUGUST 2018
We caught up with Dabney in Hollywood back in August 2018 … where he reacted to rumors about a possible “9 to 5” sequel. While he didn’t seem against the idea at the time … he stayed tight-lipped on whether a project was in the works.
Dabney — who was married and divorced twice — is survived by his 4 children. He was 92.
RIP
Lifestyle
From college exposés to family secrets, check out these new podcasts
NPR; KUT; NEPM; KCUR; KUOW
There’s a lot to celebrate in May — Cinco de Mayo, graduation, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day. Add finding your new favorite podcast to the list with the NPR One team’s recommendations from across public media.
The podcast episode descriptions below are from podcast webpages and have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Wild Card – NPR
Part-interview, part-existential game show – this is Wild Card from NPR. Host Rachel Martin rips up the typical interview script and invites guests to play a game about life’s biggest questions. Rachel takes actors, artists and thinkers on a choose-your-own-adventure conversation that lets them open up about their fears, their joys and how they’ve built meaning from experience – all with the help of a very special deck of cards.
Start listening to, “Why Jenny Slate sometimes feels like a ‘terminal optimist’.”
Ten Thousand Things with Shin Yu Pai – KUOW
This season features the stories of trailblazing Asian American women and the resilience of Asian American communities, even in the face of endangerment. Three of this season’s stories take place in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District Neighborhood, with help from the Wing Luke Museum. Featured guests include poet and former MMA cage fighter Jenny Liou; Seattle chef Tiffany Ran; and flutist Leanna Keith; among others. New episodes drop on Tuesdays. Ten Thousand Things: In many Chinese sayings, “ten thousand” is used in a poetic sense to convey something infinite, vast, and unfathomable. For Shin Yu Pai – award-winning poet and museologist – the story of Asians in America is just that. Ten Thousand Things is a podcast about modern-day artifacts of Asian American life and the stories they reveal, created and hosted by Shin Yu Pai and produced by KUOW (Seattle’s NPR station). Ten Thousand Things is a vibrant, diverse, and bittersweet celebration of Asian America … and a challenge for us all to reimagine stories of the past and future.
Listen to “Teardrop Lip.”
StoryCorps – NPR
In this season of the StoryCorps Podcast, we delve into what happens when individuals interview their parents, partners, or children — the ones who matter the most to them. Unlike a journalist, it’s someone they deeply cherish asking the questions. These stories are about people who have forged their own paths, done things their own way. Join us as we explore this archive, unveiling an unprecedented and candid portrayal of contemporary American life.
Listen to episode 1, “My Way.”
NPR Explains… – NPR
We’ve heard rhetoric about a “crisis at the border” and a “surge of migrants pouring into the U.S.” What’s happening at the border and what makes immigration such a key issue? NPR Explains is back to help break down U.S. immigration policy, conditions at the U.S.-Mexico border and how the system affects Americans. Join host and immigration correspondent Jasmine Garsd in NPR Explains: Immigration, a podcast series exclusively on the NPR app, which is available on the App Store or Google Play.
Start listening to part one, “Why is immigration a key issue?”
College Uncovered – GBH
In a world focused on getting in, do you know what you’re getting into? College Uncovered, from GBH News in collaboration with The Hechinger Report, pulls back the ivy on American higher education, exposing the problems, pitfalls and risks — and helping you navigate them. If you wonder how college really works, subscribe now. Because it’s a real education.
Start listening to episode 1, “Buyer Beware.”
The Secrets We Keep – NEPM
The stories we don’t tell, what they say about our world, and what they do to our minds — a new podcast from NEPM. Over five episodes, this limited series uses the lens of secrets to explore societal taboos and stigmas around sexual orientation, abortion, genetic origins, family scandals, and money — through the voices of secret-keepers, those kept in the dark, and history and social science experts (starting with the host’s family secret.)
Listen to part one, “Anatomy of a Secret.”
In Our Headphones – KEXP
Introducing KEXP’s newest music discovery podcast. In Our Headphones brings you five song recommendations every Monday, straight from KEXP’s DJs and Music Directors. We learn stories and insights about the artists, make connections between the music and the world around us, and get to know the diverse roster of DJs that make up the KEXP airwaves. Join hosts Janice Headley and Isabel Khalili on this never-ending journey of music discovery.
Listen to episode 1, “Cheryl Waters: Brimheim, English Teacher, Lair.”
Pause/Play – KUT
Up From Dust – KCUR
Trees are swallowing prairies. Bees are starving for food. Farmland is washing away in the rain. Humans broke the environment — but we can heal it, too. Up From Dust is a new podcast about the price of trying to shape the world around our needs, as seen from America’s breadbasket: Kansas. Hosts Celia Llopis-Jepsen and David Condos wander across prairies, farm fields and suburbia to find the folks who are finding less damaging, more sustainable ways to fix our generational mistakes.
Start listening to “When good plants turn bad.”
Untangled – WOSU
Body Electric – NPR
NPR’s Jessica Green and Jack Mitchell curated and produced this piece.
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