DraftKings Nation • 10th May 2023

‘Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie’ review: Beautifully illustrated, brave, and engaging

A moment occurs within STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie where director Davis Guggenheim asks Fox why he doesn’t talk about the intense pain he’s under fighting Parkinson’s disease. Fox mentioned it a moment earlier, and his response is, “It didn’t come up. I didn’t want to lead with that.” When he was younger, Fox was a dual-acting threat as America’s son, Alex P. Keaton, on Family Ties and everybody’s favorite time-traveling teen, Marty Mcfly, in the Back To The Future trilogy. He predicated on ne

DraftKings Nation • 9th May 2023

Spiritbox’s second ‘Eternal Blue Tour’ stop in New York shows they got the goods to hang with the best

Spiritbox knows how to have a good time. That’s not just from the first-person standpoint of witnessing the Canadian metal band tear up Irving Plaza in New York during their second consecutive sold-out show – they do it in all senses of the phrase. Before their roughly hour-and-a-half set started, DJ Casper’s “Cha Cha Slide” and Beyonce’s “All Up In Your Mind” played in preparation. During the show, the band went into their own iteration of No Doubt’s “Hella Good.”

Who says that a metal band ca

DraftKings Nation • 9th May 2023

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ proves a trilogy finale doesn’t need a main character death to be effective

There are a couple of essential ingredients when you’re looking to wrap up a trilogy. First, there’s a beginning, middle, and end (obviously). It would be best if you had a way to wrap up the individual and macro overachieving themes in which the story began in the first place. If you look at Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne becomes Gotham’s protector with the caped crusader mantle and passes it on to live a happier life (begrudgingly) in Dark Knight Rises. On the outside, the city of Gotham is going

DraftKings Nation • 5th May 2023

‘Return To Seoul’ review: Engrossing adoption drama notes a woman’s journey caught in the middle of two worlds

Did you ever feel that you were led to be somewhere by pure luck? This is precisely what happens to Frédérique “Freddie” Benoît (Park Ji-Min), who was supposed to land in Tokyo but ended up in South Korea. This happens to be her birthplace before she was given up for adoption and taken in by a French family. Perhaps in other films, an adoption drama would result in a person aching right away for a connection to a place they’ve barely known. However, Freddie doesn’t seem the least bit interested

DraftKings Nation • 5th May 2023

‘Yellowjackets’ S2E6: The wilderness will recognize what you sacrificed

As one of the first reviews since the WGA writer’s strike started, I want to say that I would not be able to give insight into these mediums I enjoy without the writers who formulate these characters and storylines. Diving into film and television for nine years has been a joy. I hope these amazing creatives get the compensation they are seeking.

Our last Yellowjackets scene in “Two Truths And A Lie” was of Shauna going into labor in the cabin. We can all agree this is the least probable scenar

DraftKings Nation • 4th May 2023

Missy Elliott’s legacy is as rock and roll as it gets

Rock and Roll music was birthed in genres like jazz, gospel, and rhythm and blues – fortified by legends such as Little Richard, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and Sh-boom. Some people have come to view rock music with a narrow lens of singer, guitarist, bassist, and drummer in the ilk of bands like The Rolling Stones, Led Zepplin, and The Foo Fighters. That’s not to say those bands aren’t vastly important in their own right (they absolutely are), but rock and roll is a genre th

DraftKings Nation • 2nd May 2023

Lovers of all things media should be paying attention to the WGA writers' strike

I’ve been fortunate to be in the realm of writing about entertainment media for nine years as well as a lifetime fan. My mind is full of timeless quotes and reenactments of scenes from my favorite film – verbatim. Even through all this time, I still have an eager and curious eye on upcoming releases like I did when I was a kid. All that wouldn’t be possible without the people in the rooms writing the storylines that hook you for weeks, make you cry, and laugh until your stomach hurts.

When we l

DraftKings Nation • 2nd May 2023

‘Big George Foreman’ review: Biopic tells the story of boxing legend with standard, safe paintbrush

George Foreman’s life is rife with the current uptick in biopics as of late. He grew up poor in Marshall, Texas, with his mother and six siblings. After some trouble during his youth, he joined the Job Corps, found boxing, won a gold medal in the 1968 Summer Olympics, became the Heavyweight Champion of the World, lost it, left the sport to become a minister, and then came back at 45 to win the title again. All of that is worthy of the film’s actual title (Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story

DraftKings Nation • 28th April 2023

While we all wait for episode six, here’s DraftKings Nation’s ‘Yellowjackets’ Halftime spectacular

If you have not noticed by now, Yellowjackets season two is on a week break, and what a way to take a breather than an impending birth within a potentially haunted forest? We’re all jonesing for answers, but we here at DraftKings Nation have a little stop-gap idea. Let’s go over some burning questions that we have coming off the last episode that we hoped to be answered in the remaining four episodes of this season.

What Will Become of Shauna’s Baby?

We can all acknowledge Shauna having her ba

DraftKings Nation • 28th April 2023

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ review: Come and get your love, goodbyes, and good times

As we end this iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy, I had to take a step back and marvel (heh) about how all these characters have been constructed for me to care so much about them. Until this point, we’ve been through two films, some cameos, animated and Christmas specials – the joy and empathy I had for this group seemed never to waver. This is despite the bonehead decisions Starlord made during Avengers: Infinity War. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 comes when the MCU needs a particular

DraftKings Nation • 27th April 2023

‘Chevalier’ review: Kelvin Harrison Jr.’s portrayal of the Black French virtuoso is rousing enough to unearth this needed story

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, was a man of many talents – particularly in a time that was extremely hostile and unaccepting to people of color. (Some things never change). Bologne was a champion fencer, violinist, composer, and also led France’s first all-Black regiment during the Revolution. Even with that comprehensive list of accomplishments, Bologne’s history is buried. After he died in 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte re-established slavery and destroyed Bologne’s compositions. This i

DraftKings Nation • 27th April 2023

‘Polite Society’ review: Two sisters are the fire and the fury of Nida Manzoor’s upbeat action-comedy

What’s wrong with reaching for your wildest dreams? Ria Khan (Kansara) doesn’t have a problem with that. As a high school student in London, Ria aspires to be a stunt woman, take karate classes, and has a YouTube channel to capture all her kung-fu aspiring escapades. On the flip side, her older sister Lena (Ritu Arya) is going through an exponential crisis, dropping out of art school because she thinks she’s not good enough. Through her sadness, Lena still musters up enough energy to help record

DraftKings Nation • 27th April 2023

‘Clock’ review: What to expect when you don’t want to be expecting

Ella Patel (Dianna Agron) is nearing her 38th birthday, and her life couldn’t be better. She has a beautiful home, a fantastic career as an in-demand interior designer, and an attentive doctor husband, Aiden (Jay Ali), whom her passion is still burning for after 10 years of marriage. Despite this fulfillment, writer-director Alexis Jacknow presents Ella with an issue that all women face in the societal, religious, and familial pressures of having a child. In an earlier film release this year, Ba

DraftKings Nation • 21st April 2023

‘Little Richard: I Am Everything’ review: The originator of Rock and Roll gets his just due

“I’m the emancipator. I’m the architect. I’m the one that started it all.” As the various figures speak about the legacy musical figure in Little Richard: I Am Everything, you find out that there existed an instance of duality that raged inside of him. You have the boisterous, flamboyant torch bearer of rock-n-roll music. Then, there’s the religiously grounded Richard Wayne Penniman, who grew up impoverished, singing in church in Macon, Georgia – with a strict minister for a father that did not

DraftKings Nation • 21st April 2023

‘Ghosted’ review: Chris Evans and Ana de Armas’ rom-com meets spy flick doesn’t match their star power

Is there any way to fully know who the person you’re interested in is who they say they are? We all hold something back to protect ourselves or think the other person won’t accept us – the ole dating game. At the heart of director Dexter Fletcher’s Ghosted lies a simplistic rom-com formula of a boy and girl looking who unexpectantly hit it off. When we meet Sadie (Ana de Armas), she’s mourning the death of a friend and looking for a little getaway in the middle of nowhere. All the while, she con

DraftKings Nation • 21st April 2023

‘Yellowjackets’ S2E5 review: Sometimes you bring things back with you beyond explanation

Before we begin, actress Tawny Cypress said in an interview with TV Insider that we should pay attention to. When they returned from the wilderness, young Taissa and Van still had some semblance of a relationship. But for some reason, it all fell apart. Sometimes, your first love is a candle in the wild. However, there’s a reason why this other side of adult Taissa is seeking adult Van out. Flashbacks to 1996 indicate young Van has some understanding of what is happening inside Tai. It all circl

DraftKings Nation • 20th April 2023

These AI-generated songs sap the soul out of the artistic medium that needs it most

I’m sure I’m not alone in this, but one of my favorite electronic groups of all time is Daft Punk. When the duo suddenly broke up in 2021, I was crushed. They made music on their own terms, made releases count, and had those amazing robot helmets (plus, I never got to see them live). An immediate void was created as they exited the incomparable musical partnership together. But a recent interview with co-founder Thomas Bangalter said when asked about why the duo broke up. He said, “As much as I

DraftKings Nation • 20th April 2023

‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’ review: A book adaptation fit for immense applause

One of the strengths that writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig’s adaptation of author Judy Blume’s beloved 1970’s novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret marvelously exhibits a balance between its two main themes. Stories entrenched in the minds and hearts are challenging to crack when striving to translate them into a different form of media. This is why Blume has rejected many pitches for over 40 years. Thankfully, Craig's guidance does the story justice. The film is a revelatory coming-of-ag

DraftKings Nation • 19th April 2023

Ari Aster has a love for the deceptively depressive ending

Spoilers Ahead For Hereditary, Midsommar, and Beau Is Afraid are below.

Having viewed all three of writer/director Ari Aster’s feature films, I’ve concluded that the guy loves a depressing ending. Not just a simple, sad ending where it feels like all is lost – some of them have an uncomfortable celebratory vibe. For example, at the end of 2018’s Hereditary, everything that could go wrong for the Graham family does. The son, Peter, jumps out of the window to his death after he watches his posses

DraftKings Nation • 19th April 2023

Foo Fighters ‘Rescued’ shows the band is still committed to finding and being a light

Unfortunately, loss is a part of life we can’t avoid. It’s a certainty that feels like cruelty when we aren’t given heads up to brace ourselves for it. With that token, tragedy has also been a mainstay in music. Examples are the late Chris Cornell with Soundgarden/Audioslave and Chester Bennington with Linkin Park. Knowing they are gone brings sadness from two points – revisiting the music they left us is noticeably heavier, and wondering what artistry they still had to give to the world. We cou