Latest news with #Nope
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Keke Palmer Dissects ‘Just Keke' Visual Album and Why She's Found It ‘So Hard Being a Person and a Product'
Keke Palmer, the quintessential millennial multihyphenate, has played nearly every role the mind can generate. A box office queen who can lead films alongside Oscar winners (2022's Nope with Daniel Kaluuya) and pop stars (2025's One of Them Days with SZA), an iconic child star with her own talk show, an Emmy-winning game show host, a Billboard charting singer-songwriter, founder of her own online entertainment content platform (KeyTV), and even a Broadway diva. For two decades, Palmer didn't just entertain the masses; she provided a sterling example for adolescent Black audiences in an era in which there were few. Her starring turn in Akeelah and the Bee (in which she plays a young girl competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee), for example, remains her most beloved and notable role in Black households for 19 years and counting. More from Billboard Brandy & Monica Announce 'The Boy Is Mine' Co-Headlining Tour With Kelly Rowland, Muni Long & Jamal Roberts: All the Dates Luis Cortés, Angelina Victoria, Maeso & More Emerging Latin Artists on Our Radar Selena Gomez Says Ice Cube Was Her Childhood Celebrity Crush: 'I Just Thought He Would Protect Me' 'I have done so much work to make sure that I'm giving my audience my very best, and I've also had a hard time being a performer at such a young age and protecting myself through performance,' she tells Billboard of her history in the spotlight, while she's in the middle of a glam session. She's nearing the end of a weeklong New York promotional run supporting her new Just Keke visual album, and on Juneteenth 2025 (June 19), she's doing everything but resting. 'It's been so hard to manage being a person and being a product.' But one unexpectedly controversial dance pushed her into a role she rarely assumed in the public eye: herself. In July 2023, Palmer made national headlines when she attended Usher's My Way Las Vegas residency, where the Grammy-winning R&B legend serenaded her with 'There Goes My Baby' and a cheeky-yet-respectful dance. When footage hit social media, Darius Jackson — Palmer's ex-boyfriend and the father of their son Leodis — publicly lambasted her choice of dress (a sheer number with a bodysuit underneath), writing on X: 'It's the outfit tho… you a mom.' What unraveled next was a public exposé of alleged domestic violence incidents that culminated in a November 2023 hearing, in which a judge granted Palmer's requests for a temporary restraining order against Jackson, as well as temporary sole custody of their son. By May 2024, Palmer dropped the requests, and the domestic violence restraining order hearing was canceled; she and Jackson have since reached a place where they can co-parent their son together. While her Nickelodeon and Disney peers have seemingly all had at least one major scandal to their names (ranging from incessant twerking and licking unpurchased donuts to near-fatal overdoses), Palmer's celebrity was, in part, defined by her lack of verifiable scandals. In fact, on social media, her nickname was – and continues to be – Keke 'Keep a Job/Bag' Palmer, a tribute to her enviable work ethic and seemingly endless arsenal of talents. From the film roles she chose to her generally affable demeanor, Palmer played the historically difficult role of Black child star-turned-adult entertainer almost perfectly. Until one fateful night (where she wasn't even acting out of character in the slightest) blew it all up — and social media inundated her with myopic takes on her personal life that ranged from violently misogynistic to harmful respectability politics. 'For someone to weaponize your audience against you, it was very heartbreaking,' she reflects, betraying her hairstylist to look me in the eye. 'My life isn't a joke. There's a lot of s–t I joke about, but I don't joke about my life. I don't want to confuse [people and have them] think that this is what we do over here. Let's not joke about families falling apart. That's not funny to me.' While other entertainers may have taken some time out of the public eye, Palmer continued with her fifty 'leven commitments. But in between filming Boots Riley's upcoming I Love Boosters film, forming her DivaGurl girl group (with Sadé and LaShay), and raising her new baby boy, Palmer somehow found the time to link with Grammy-nominated, Hot 100-topping singer-songwriter Tayla Parx and funnel her whirlwind of emotions into her third studio album. When the two former True Jackson VP co-stars linked in Atlanta at the top of the year to begin the songwriting process, they left 'Keke' and 'Tayla' at the door, in favor of Lauren and Taylor (their birth names), respectively. 'Honestly, [sessions] looked like hanging out and talking with your best friend [who] also happens to be an extraordinarily talented and skilled songwriter,' Palmer explains as a smile creeps across her face. 'I'm doing what's normal to me, but she's doing what nobody I've ever worked with has done, which is be able to create the stage for me to say things that I didn't even know I could say and help align it with the energy the record needs.' As the pen behind era-defining smashes like fellow Nickelodeon alum Ariana Grande's '7 Rings,' Parx knows how to craft a song that will conquer the charts and/or awards season. But that wasn't the goal for the Just Keke sessions. Parx's ability to tease out Palmer's most closely guarded truths gave way to the most confessional music of the Emmy-winner's career. Album opener 'Off Script' addresses her life veering away from the blueprint she chose for herself as self-described 'Type A' person ('Even when I let you get me pregnant/ Oh shit, how else can I prove it?'); 'My Confession' flips Usher's 'Confessions, Pt. II' into a play-by-play of her relationship's demise, and 'Ripples' displays her family's collective growth in the face of emotional turmoil. When she sings, 'Got me on some viral shit, scandalous/ Call the lawyers, handle it/ The money's the last thing we was worried 'bout/ The truth is we both was fighting for our child,' her tone is equal parts desperate and resentful, a testament to the intricacy of her vocal performance throughout the album. There are also the standout cuts: 'I Wanna Know,' a Brandy-esque track that explores voyeurism and betrayal (complete with meticulously placed ad-libs), and 'Tea, Boo,' a campy, Slick Rick-meets-RuPaul track that finds Palmer giving her best Lady Whistledown impression. She says the latter is Baby Leo's favorite song on the album. Building on the smooth R&B of her 2016 fan-favorite Lauren EP, Just Keke finds its narrative anchor in spoken word interludes that emphasize the album's overarching variety show concept. Her most vocally impressive — she's always been an adept singer, but here she gets closer than ever to finding her most flattering sonic and melodic pockets — and aesthetically ambitious musical offering yet, Just Keke is an unmistakable turning point in Palmer's recording career, one part of her portfolio that has notably lagged behind the others. 'I think what is comparable [about Just Keke] is the truth that we hear when we think of artists like Brandy and Mary J. Blige and Whitney Houston. I was tapped into life experiences that bring you to a deeper truth; it's a lot of me growing up,' she says. 'Because the lyrics are so true to me, I was able to sing them like I would [speak] them. That's why I think [this album] has my best vocal performances. There's now a different level of depth that I'm carrying after I evolved as a person.' Named after her 2014 talk show (which made her the youngest talk show host in TV history at just 20), Just Keke arrived on June 20 via Palmer's own Big Bosses Entertainment label, alongside a 30-minute, self-funded short film. A visual album in the vein of Beyoncé's Lemonade and Black Is King, the short film brings the album's variety show concept to life, featuring cameos from Issa Rae and nods to classic women's television shows, including Insecure, Lizzie McGuire, Moesha, and Sex and the City. Not only does Palmer incorporate her hosting, singing and acting prowess, she also flaunts her dance skills, tackling everything from breakdancing to praise dancing. Her mother, Sharon Palmer, also serves as an executive producer on the film, underscoring how the Just Keke project has helped strengthen and deepen her family's connection. By playing host, lead actress and spectator in her own semi-autobiographical visual album, Palmer finally lays bare her story on her own terms — and she unlocked new levels of her artistry in the process. '[The film] is about the boundaries that I'm setting and the reclamation of my narrative and my parasocial relationship with my audience,' Palmer says. 'Loving deeply is important, but loving that deep with boundaries is even more important. I needed to learn that in life, not even just on a romantic level.' On this uncharacteristically rainy Juneteenth Thursday, the theme of reclamation feels particularly apt. Throughout the 36 hours or so that I've spent with Palmer, she's aware of every last detail around her, but there's an unmistakable ease to her energy that wasn't always there from afar. She feels free, and that freedom oozes out of every note she sings and every kiss she blows. 'I feel so free to be living in my truth and to be able to speak on my story without concern,' she gushes. 'That's the thing about Akeelah and the Bee on a deeper level. I think we all loved that movie – and my mom wanted me to do it – because we loved seeing a little girl be able to articulate herself and express how she feels about the world and the people in her life and community. That's something that's been very much kept from our community. So for me to be able to express the nuances of anger, grief and sorrow — but also share my love and joy — it feels very freeing.' Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Keke Palmer wants another child
Keke Palmer "would love" to have another child. The Nope actress is currently single but she admitted she is always thinking about the possibility of having a sibling for her two-year-old son Leodis, who she has with former partner Darius Jackson. Asked if she wants more children, she told People magazine: "I would love to. It's one of those things I think about all the time. It's like, when that's going to happen, if that's going to happen, how that's going to happen." Despite their public break-up last year, Keke and Darius are on much better terms now and she thinks they have "grown a lot". Discussing how the split inspired her new album, Just Keke - which she shared with her former partner first - she said: "I think we both have grown a lot. "Life is funny that way. Sometimes things happen, and they teach you about yourself, good or bad, and then you have to decide what to do with it." The 31-year-old star insisted the most important thing when it comes to co-parenting with Darius is being "at your best for the baby" and putting their differences aside for the sake of what is best for their son. She said: "If the interpersonal drama becomes bigger than that, well, then they're not co-parenting. They're just being selfish. "For us, that was the big thing. 'Can we get on the same page? Can we co-parent? Can we actually put Leo first?' And then the closure piece is like, 'I'm okay with that being all that it is. Because I don't want to be in something that makes me unhappy, or you either.' You can't make people who you want them to be. You have to accept them for who they are." Although it was Father's Day earlier this month, Leodis didn't get to spend it with his dad because of Darius' work commitments. Keke explained: "We celebrated with my dad. His dad, Darius, is in the military, so he's not able to be as around, but [he's] making sure he's getting what he needs to get and doing good for our son."
USA Today
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Ranking the top 25 films of the 2020s so far, from Tár to Nope
Ranking the top 25 films of the 2020s so far, from Tár to Nope As hard as it is to believe, we are more than halfway through the 2020s. A decade that started with masks on our faces and quarantines to abide by, we didn't spend nearly as much time at the movie theater as we did huddled in our living rooms for Netflix binges and movie marathons as cineplexes were closed across the globe. Thankfully, the doors opened once again for moviegoers, and we've gotten to experience some truly special films together in the years that have followed. Pinpointing this exact May 2025 moment we're in, how has the cinematic decade that was shaped up for us? While we've still got a ways to go until we look at the 2020s in the grander view of film, it still feels prudent to take a look back at the 2020s at (roughly) the halfway point and see what the best films are to this point. Certainly, this list is highly subjective to the author's preference and prone to just a bit of cheating in one spot. Also, we've seen Sinners three times now, and limiting ourselves to 2020-2024 wouldn't allow us to rank one of the best movies of the decade. So, we're going to veer just a bit into 2025 to include the singing vampires. With new insights and revised insights from past reviews we liked for what they said at the time, let's break down the top 25 films of this decade so far, a surely flawed list that will continue to ebb and flow in ranking and estimation as time goes on, as all of these lists are destined to do until the end of time. Films we regretted leaving off and might include if you asked tomorrow: BlackBerry, Dune: Part One, Bloody Nose Empty Pockets, Poor Things, West Side Story, We're All Going to the World's Fair, Asteroid City, Nomadland, Turning Red, Godzilla Minus One, You Hurt My Feelings, RRR, The Northman, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, The French Dispatch, The Power of the Dog, Licorice Pizza, Hit the Road, Hundreds of Beavers, Anatomy of a Fall, Driveways, Babygirl, The Killer, A Real Pain, David Byrne's American Utopia, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Anora, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Bad Education, The Matrix Resurrections, Annette, The Last Duel, Air, Ferrari, Past Lives, Trap, Civil War, Rap World, Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl Two films we love that we also understand you are upset are not on this list, but please understand the amount of films viewed for consideration here: Top Gun Maverick, Barbie Some NFSW language to follow. 25. Tár What's striking about Tár after all these years is how clear-eyed is in such a compellingly complicated portrait of a great artist who might also be a terrible person. The film takes such a comfortable moral footing in Lydia Tár's journey that the generational rigors of Cate Blanchett's brilliant performance ignite even brighter sparks. You never doubt for a second how this film feels about its central character, but you still can't help but dive into your own personal dissection into who this woman is and why she does what she does. Todd Field painted the most compelling singular portrait of the decade in Tár, a fictional character who felt so, so upsettingly real. 24. Aftersun Charlotte Wells made Aftersun a searing collective memory that transported off the screen into your subconscious, pulling out all those fragmented pains of your youth and reconfiguring them into striking revelations you can only find once you're older, wiser and so much more like those you remember. Wells' film so carefully pieces together the film's vacation vignettes into a story so unassumingly relatable that its final gut punch hits you with the unexpected jolt it hits its reminiscing main character. It's trite to say a film is unforgettable, but Aftersun is a film you quite literally can't forget because it was with you all along. 23. Megalopolis One day, the film nerds of tomorrow will reclaim Francis Ford Coppola's bedazzled, bewildering fever dream Megalopolis as a vital work of opulent genius, speaking a language that played much more clearly to the people who would eventually get it. We're going to go ahead and get ahead of the curb and give Coppola his flowers now as opposed to being caught flat-footed down the road. There might not be a film released this decade that has quite as much optimistic imagination as Megalopolis. Coppola hooked up the connector cables to his dreams and brought them to the big screen in full, technicolor wonder. Rendering his hope for the future through old Hollywood grandeur and making his societal warnings with Tim and Eric cringe-disaster, Coppola went so for broke with his passion project that he will probably never get these resources ever again to make another movie. So be it if so; this was a stargazing grand slam from an all-time auteur to celebrate. 22. Killers of the Flower Moon Martin Scorsese's only film of the 2020s was yet another one of his American masterpieces, studying the nation's original sins of racism and greed with the same urgency and precision that marks all his great films. Its ending, one of an artist conceding his film's limitations and mourning a world where this story must even be told in the first place, lingers with you. Combined with the beating heart of Lily Gladstone, the cowardice of Leonardo DiCaprio and the slithering evil of Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon is cinematic mourning. 21. Avatar: The Way of Water Nobody makes big movies quite like James Cameron, and his second Avatar film felt like a genuine leap forward for the medium in how it transports viewers, quite literally, to another world. The underwater scenes in IMAX 3D filled the theater in a way no film ever has, as you quite literally felt like you were swimming under the sea with all of Pandora's teeming aquatic life. The story was a genuine improvement from the original, and the film's show-stopper of a climax stamped in why Cameron is a Mount Rushmore blockbuster director. 20. Spontaneous Brian Duffield made his directorial debut with 2020's unbelievably prescient Spontaneous, somehow the defining film about living in the cruel ironies and personal devastations of the COVID-19 pandemic. Duffield couldn't have had any idea how revenant his debut was, making it in a world where COVID-19 didn't even register a single infection. However, as it stands, no film quite captured the uncertainties and terrors of the invisible virus that shut our world down. Even past that, Duffield's film is a rallying cry for a defiant generation that is sick and tired of watching the vicious cycle without any answers. It's an essential high school film. 19. Challengers Luca Guadagnino revived the modern sports movie with Challengers, a bracing love triangle set against the enthralling balance of tennis. It's hard to really describe what a titanic force this film is when you get Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' strobe-light score pulsing through your veins and see Guadagnino tossing about Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O'Connell in the winds of fierce, unforgiving competition. Seeing this in a loud theater, basking in the electricity of the final act and watching everyone quite literally crash into each other with reckless abandon ... it's why we love the movies, folks. (More here) 18. Nickel Boys "Cinema as immersion" has never been as palpable as it is in Nickel Boys, which really might be the singular filmmaking achievement of the decade so far. RaMell Ross' instant classic adapts Colson Whitehead's novel with innovation, putting viewers right behind the camera by taking a first-person view through the entire film between its two main characters. We see what they see as if it's happening right in front of us. The way Nickel Boys is made makes it impossible not to feel the warmth of childhood and shudder at the the terror of oppression. You're right there because that's how Ross intends his film to play. There is no screen; merely a window. This film is impossible to shake because of how it completely transports you. You leave this film feeling as if you've been given the memories of others, as if the ghosts in the empathy machine of cinema need you to remember them forever. That's filmmaking in the highest order. (More here) 17. I Saw the TV Glow The 2020s gave us Jane Shoenbrun, perhaps the biggest auteur to make their debut in this decade. Their stirring debut We're All Going to the World's Fair broke down loneliness and anxiety in the internet age better than any film of its class, and I Saw the TV Glow confirmed that promise with a barnburner of a masterpiece. Inviting you in with the late-night discomfort and allure of 1990s Snick-era young adult television and stunning you with the still-shock of David Lynch, David Cronenberg and Ari Aster, Schoenbrun's triumphant coming-of-age horror fantasy will serve as a life-changer for some and a fierce call for empathy for others. It's a monument of trans cinema and a breathtaking leap for Schoenbrun into auteur status. This film is a major work of the decade so far, and the closer it draws you in to its glow, the more you're likely to avoid the perils that await staying still. (More here) 16. The Fabelmans Great filmmakers got into a rhythm of making their autobiographies through their chosen medium over the last decade, but none of those were as affecting as Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans. One of Spielberg's best films of the millennium, he turned the camera back onto himself with this domestic drama and grappled with some piercing truths about his upbringing, his love for film and how they ultimately intersected. Introspection via filmmaking is nothing new, but for it to come from Spielberg in this exact way felt particularly powerful. 15. The Brutalist Brady Corbet's searing epic about art and assimilation has garnered a lot of attention for its size. It's about three-and-a-half hours with an intermission. The imagery is grand and unforgettable, particularly on an IMAX screen. The ideas are vast, about the toll of immigration in a land that may not welcome you, about the never-ending battle between creation and commerce. The performances are big and expressive, none more so than Adrien Brody's spellbinding breath of life into László Tóth. However, it's in the small details where Corbet solidifies his masterpiece. (More here) 14. Dick Johnson is Dead Few films have made you feel quite alive this decade as documentarian Kirsten Johnson's euphoric act of coping with her father's dementia diagnosis. Making a film about death so life-affirming deserved a lot of credit, but Johnson went past even that by traversing the path to the heart and to life's grandest truths through such wacky creativity and endearing gallows humor. Watching Dick Johnson "die" so many times and he and his daughter embrace his death makes you want to live and love even harder than you already do. 13. Beau is Afraid Ari Aster's epic breakdown of arrested development and paranoia is easily his best film yet, one of the towering works of the decade and yet another showcase for why Joaquin Phoenix can literally do anything. Beau is Afraid is as obtuse an odyssey as you're likely to go on anytime soon, one that unpacks the painful truths about our relationships to the ways we were raised and how they might set us up to run screaming away from whatever on Earth is trying to chase us. While you have to wait until the third act to meet Patti LuPone's sneering matriarch, the entire journey is absolutely unforgettable and, perhaps, so close to home you feel like you're actually there. (More here) 12. Dune: Part Two Denis Villeneuve knew he had to go as big and bold as possible to widen the spectacle and stakes of his adaptation for the second part, but he someone managed to both outdo himself and deliver one of the definitive tentpole experiences of the decade so far with Dune: Part Two. It's a vital experience in a theater and a rigorous moral maze for the mind, one that interrogates power and freedom in the vacuum of the messiah complex. It's also got giant sandworm battles and blistering combats that rival the sheer scope and cosmic shock of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies. (More here) 11. Oppenheimer Oppenheimer is a tricky film, one that recognizes its titular scientist's brilliance while openly deliberating on its immeasurable horror. Once that genie got out of the bottle, we couldn't put it back in. Christopher Nolan's Best Picture winning-film film might end on an increasingly pessimistic note to some, but it feels like an earnest plea for change, one that we can obtain if we actually try. It's the most urgent film of Nolan's career and easily one of his best. It's an all-timer in every sense of the phrase, and it really is one of the defining theatrical experiences of the 2020s so far. (More here) 10. Titane Julia Ducournau's unhinged masterpiece delivered a devastating study of how right the concept of "nature versus nurture" really is. Sure, a film about a serial killer who is attracted to cars pretending to be the missing child of a steroid-pumping firefighter might sound a little wacky, even for the most extreme corners of experimental French cinema. However, Ducournau contorts such a seemingly tasteless story into something that affects you in the grand and minutia. Titane is a tidal wave of love and grace disguised in shock and horror, a fierce testament to just how disarming it is to have even a slight ounce of genuine care and affection in your life from somebody who finds worth in you. Ducournau couples her flamethrower filmmaking talents with two generational performances from Agathe Rousselle and Vincent Lindon, giving the audience something absolutely unforgettable. Even the most twisted wayfaring strangers can change with some TLC. 9. The Holdovers The radiant, barbed warmth of The Holdovers will wear you down until you finally scoot over and let it sit right by you by the fireplace. The Holdovers is one of those once-in-a-lifetime movies, one where everything works so perfectly in unison with the cast, script, direction, setting, sentiments and aura to create a film that literally transports you to a distant holiday in your own head. The Holdovers isn't an easy film to watch around Christmastime, bittersweet in its resolution and unforgiving in its practicalities. However, it is a vital one in trying to understand ourselves in the most unusual of moments during the most sensitive time of year, those moments where we need those people we'll never forget and never would've considered if not for the season at hand. It's a perfect holiday film, one that would melt even unchanged Scrooge's heart. (More here) 8. Bo Burnham: Inside To live in the aftermath of the pandemic meant to grapple with the lingering anxieties of the age. No film did a better job of capturing the brain freeze of the COVID-19 pandemic like Bo Burnham's showstopper of an experimental standup special. Burnham mixed his penchant for comedy songs with the uneasy, ironic dread that suffocated 2020, pouring his audience a warm cider spliced with absinthe. The film plays like that lingering feeling of uncertainty you feel when you wake up from an afternoon nap right when the sun is going down, culminating in two of his finest moments as a performer: "That Funny Feeling" and "All Eyes On Me." The first perfectly encapsulates that pit in your stomach of trying to live during such unprecedented times, while the latter is a masterclass in marrying his unique storytelling ability with the confinement of the project. All eyes were on Burnham during this heart-open house concert, and he owned the moment for all time. 7. Babylon Damien Chazelle went buckwild for his acidic silent Hollywood elegy, a rip-roaring, debauched frat party of dizzying Tinseltown splendor and ruin. It's almost the anti-La La Land, a pitch-perfect flipped side of the coin of what it's like to make your way in an industry that will chew you up and spit you out all while you have the best and worst time of your life. To Chazelle, you have to be positively insane to give your life over to such a radioactive tire fire as the show business, but the eternal sparks from the flames will keep you alive long after you're gone. Anchored in Margot Robbie's finest moment as an actor, Chazelle's shirt-ripping bacchanal gives as much of a hooray as a horrified holler for the movies, cementing their on-screen glory and ghastly underbelly in equal measure. Only could humans make something so wonderful out of such ribald chaos. In an era where there is such worry about the future of movies, Babylon proves that they're just too powerful to die. 6. Red Rocket Simon Rex's Mikey returns to his small Texas town as a sordid Pied Piper, weaving tales of his adult film exploits to any listening ear all while concocting cons to stay afloat with promises of a better life he has no intentions of filling. Move over, Wicked, Sean Baker's Red Rocket is the real Wizard of Oz prequel we need. No American film has captured the Trumpian rot better than Red Rocket, with Rex delivering the decade's best performance so far in a character that perfectly encapsulates how deranged charm can make people bend over backwards for even the most derelict of actors. Weaving in the *NSYNC seminal pop stunner "Bye Bye Bye" as a nefarious bookend to Mikey's hometown gambit, Baker doesn't even need to say you know who's name to deliver the most damning portrait of his political rise and continued stranglehold over the citizenry. 5. Small Axe We're going to cheat a little here, as Steve McQueen's five-part Small Axe still feels like a gut punch in five parts, all interlocked together to create maximum impact. The astounding anthology film series takes five different looks at West Indian immigrants trying to make their way in London during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. One part, Mangrove, is a gripping courtroom drama based in racial injustice, while another, Lovers Rock, is an intoxicating house party buoyed by Shabier Kirchner's floating camerawork on the dance floor. McQueen's central thesis flows effortlessly between all five parts, as he varies his approach for the dreamlike Lovers Rock to the brutal realities of the John Boyega police study Red, White and Blue. All five parts make for a sensational whole, as McQueen's Small Axe hit with elegiac force in 2020 and sticks with us to this day. 4. On the Count of Three Jerrod Carmichael's directorial debut features two wayward souls planning to off each other after whatever would quality as the perfect last day on Earth. It's a deliriously unsettling template for any film to follow, and one that would be so, so, so, so easy to fumble without the most careful of approaches. The fact that Carmichael takes such disparate depression and literally cruel irony and morphs it into something so life-affirming cements him as one of the most promising filmmakers of his generation. On the Count of Three mines its jaw drop of a premise for some humdinger happenings and shocking pathos, as Carmichael and co-star Christopher Abbott make for the perfect odd couple to go about this ordeal together. It's as piercing a commentary on how society treats the mentally ill as we've gotten in some time, and Carmichael's filmmaking style feels like a brilliant splice between small-scale Robert Altman and early David Gordon Green. There is no possible way to remove On the Count of Three from your mind, nor do you ever want to forget what it was like to live this fateful day with these two confused souls. It's so far the independent filmmaking thrill of the 2020s. 3. Sinners Filmmaker Ryan Coogler has been building to this film for his entire career, as Sinners as the kind of rollicking jolt to the senses that makes you feel positively alive. It's hard to overstate just how important a film like this is, a wholly original film in love with its genre flourishes and reaching for the highest peaks in the craft. Only five films in, Coogler has already asserted himself as a generational talent, one of the anointed filmmakers in his class who can call himself a household name. After putting in his time with all-time franchise work, he finally made his magnum opus. This is the first original blockbuster since Nope that has a chance to reach the zeitgeist, and that's beyond worth celebrating. Also, that IMAX 70mm presentation is to bite for. (More here) 2. Tenet We really did live in a twilight world when Tenet hit theaters in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic, as Christopher Nolan finally made his true homage to James Bond and Michael Mann's Miami Vice in one fell swoop. Tenet unfortunately came out in a year where repeat viewings for such a tangled web as what Nolans weaves were felt unwise. However, in the nearly five years since Tenet's release, it's clear that the best way to enjoy this film is to just let go and let the immaculate vibes wash over you. As wonderful and important as Oppenheimer was, Tenet was Nolan's best film this decade. That Nolan has two films in this top 20 cements what a special place he's in as a filmmaker right now, where it feels like every new project could hit masterpiece status as these two clearly have. Tenet is the true culmination of his impeccable talents crashing against his dreamworld logic, as it plays with the breathless thrill of stepping onto a new planet for the first time. You still might not fully grasp the concept of inversion, but you feel Tenet in your bones by film's end. 1. Nope Jordan Peele has as much of a pulse on the world we live in as any filmmaker working right now, and nobody in recent memory has taken their first-film clout and ran with it into such wildly original directions as he has. As hard as it is to compare to Get Out, one of the few films released in the last 10 years that automatically earns a spot in one of those "great movies of all time" montages people edit together for awards shows, Nope might be an even better movie. His scorching parable of the sensationalism era takes a clenched fist to our unhealthy obsession with tragedy-as-entertainment and our desire to turn real-world consequence into our personal blockbusters. It's a sci-fi Western horror drenched in 2020s urgency, and Peele's filmmaking is of the highest order. You'll never look at a cloud the same way again, that's for sure... all for the better, we say.
Metro
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Victoria Monet reveals she 'fell deeply' for Stormzy after going public
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Victoria Monet has reflected on her time dating Stormzy several months after the pair were spotted kissing. Grammy winner Victoria appeared on the Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast where the Nope star recalled encountering Stormzy at the Met Gala and how they discussed how 'amazing' Victoria was between themselves. The R&B singer, 36, who appeared slightly flustered by the turn in conversation, said: 'Yeah, you know he is a really special guy, I have so much respect for him and I got to learn more about him by dating him.' The mother-of-one then continued: 'I fell deeply, so deeply for him and we didn't even get together yet. The first time [the internet] saw us in that viral picture was the first time we were hanging out in his city so I was like 'oh my god, it's everywhere before we're even starting'. Keke agreed that that must have been hard to 'navigate'. The snaps of the pair kissing, which surfaced in October, were not addressed by either party at the time and from the sounds of it their brief entanglement is in the past. An eyewitness told The Sun as the time: 'Both Stormzy and Victoria looked absolutely smitten with each other. They kissed, and when he hugged her, he picked her up in the air. It seems like he is in a great place after his split from Maya.' The kiss came three months after the Grime star's – real name Michael Owuo Jr. -highly-public split from Love Island host Maya Jama, 30, who had dated each other from 2014 to 2019 and then from 2023 to 2024. Victoria's latest remarks – confirming a romantic moment between the pair – come as Maya went social media official with her relationship with football star Ruben Dias. The media personality posted a very romantic looking getaway with Ruben on the Amalfi Coast. She filmed Ruben rubbing suncream into his shoulders with the caption, 'Perve cam,' after months of speculation about the couple. It looks as though Maya met the Portuguese footballer at the European Music Awards (EMAs) in November and since then the loved-up duo have been spotted together regularly. Stormzy and Maya's joint break up statement in July 2024, read: 'We still think the absolute world of each other, we still care and respect each other, we are still grateful for the time we've had together, and we are still friends and will always be friends.' In November – before she connected with Ruben – Maya explained what she was looking for in a future partner in an interview with The Standard. More Trending 'I am so happy right now but the next person I meet I want to marry and have kids with, so obviously I'm feeling fussy. ''I've created such a nice life for myself alone and I don't want anyone who's not going to add to that. I'm in this lovely bubble and I don't want you unless you make me happy. If you're not, I kind of don't need you. 'One thing I've learned: some people are like, 'I'm lonely, I need someone.' But the mission in life is to make yourself happy, then find someone who brings something that matches that to the table,' she said at the time. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Maya Jama's full dating timeline from Stormzy to Ruben Dias MORE: Maya Jama takes big step in Ruben Dias relationship with huge gesture
Business Insider
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Keke Palmer said she didn't feel adequately paid in Hollywood until Jordan Peele's 'Nope' — two decades into her career
Keke Palmer has worked in Hollywood since she was 10 — but when asked by Business Insider when she felt adequately paid, the 31-year-old said: "' Nope,' that was probably the first time." Palmer played Emerald Haywood in Jordan Peele's 2022 horror movie, in which she and Daniel Kaluuya play siblings who try to get a photo of a murderous UFO to sell the image for money. Before "Nope," Palmer led the Nickelodeon series "True Jackson, VP," which ran from 2008 until 2011, starred in the 2015 slasher comedy " Scream Queens" created by Ryan Murphy, and voiced the mammoth Peaches in multiple " Ice Age" movies. Palmer's first prominent movie role was at the age of 12 in 2006's " Akeelah and the Bee," in which she starred opposite Queen Latifah. Palmer, who is also a singer, TV host, author, and podcaster, said that gender and racial inequalities are very real in Hollywood, but she doesn't dwell on them. "I don't compare — especially as a Black person, a Black woman — because it's not a fair thing to do to myself," Palmer continued. "I don't think that comparing oneself makes sense in any regard, because you're not at the same vantage point, beginning or otherwise, as someone else." She added that "if you are getting your needs met, that has to be at the forefront of your mind. That doesn't mean that everything is fair, but it's an important thing to think about and have a particular perspective about." Palmer encourages other actors in Hollywood to diversy their income streams Palmer said it's one of the reasons she's diversified her income streams, including owning multiple production companies, and has encouraged others to do the same. "It's essentially why I turned my brand into a holdings company with subsidiaries. You have to diversify," Palmer said. It's increasingly common for A-listers to launch multiple businesses to increase career longevity. Rihanna has Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty. Kim Kardashian launched Skims, and Reese Witherspoon's media company, Hello Sunshine, is among the most successful in Hollywood. In recent years, Black actors, including Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis, Mo'Nique, and Taraji P. Henson, have spoken out about not being paid fairly on account of their race and gender. In a 2023 SiriusXM interview, Henson confirmed rumors that she considered quitting Hollywood over pay inequality. "I'm just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do [and] getting paid a fraction of the cost," she said tearfully. "I'm tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over. You get tired. I hear people go, 'You work a lot.' Well, I have to."
