It's Washington's biggest party weekend. Can anyone see the stars?
'From 'The White Lotus'!!!' screamed a woman in a blunt-cut black bob.
She was ecstatic to see Jason Isaacs, who played the pill-swallowing pater familias of a wealthy Southern family, haunted by legal trouble and frequently zonked out in the latest season of the show. He was standing by the wine bar at the back of Osteria Mozza chatting and taking selfies in a dark shirt and dark jacket — once again a guest in a decadent setting, this time playing himself (alert, English-accented).
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Boston Globe
3 hours ago
- Boston Globe
The docuseries ‘Built in Birmingham: Brady & the Blues' isn't bad, except the Tom Brady parts
Well, here's the basic timeline. Appreciated every extraordinary thing he did on the field during his 20 years with the Patriots … recognized he was getting weird on us with stuff like the Alex Guerrero connection, offensively overpriced TB12 gear, and the no-mushroom policy, but hey, his unprecedented late-career excellence made for a heck of a case on his behalf … cringed when the formerly down-to-earth young QB who used to chug beers faster than his linemen started pushing crypto and running with the oligarch class… watched almost every broadcast of his rookie season as Fox's lead NFL analyst last fall, eventually concluding that the reason he didn't show much personality is that it might not be there to show … But the tipping point that brought on the aforementioned realization was Brady's behavior in his version of a current trend among the rich, famous, and presumably bored — buying an English soccer team, and making a documentary about it in which the star is the rescuing hero. Advertisement 'Built in Birmingham: Brady & the Blues' is a five-episode docuseries that debuted at the end of July on Amazon Prime. It's about a Champions League soccer team (the second tier in English soccer, below the Premier League) that Brady and his private equity pal Tom Wagner recognize as an undervalued asset (always heart-warming when vultures find their food) and purchase, with Brady taking on minority ownership but with full boss duties. Advertisement 'Built in Birmingham' is not bad at all. The city (gritty, industrial, and full of amusingly blunt fans that will remind you of specific Ted Lasso side characters), players (the third episode, featuring star player Jay Stansfield's back story, is the best in the series), and the team (whose history roughly resembles the Red Sox' from 1919-2003) are compelling. The problem is it's far less interesting when Brady is around. He speaks to the players in bromides and banalities — 'We practice like it's the Super Bowl' — about his time with the Patriots (and Bucs), which he seems to presume these futbol players know from A to Z and XXXVI to LV. He punctuates his Cliff Notes Tony Robbins proclamations with a specific expletive so often that it's a wonder it hasn't slipped through on a Fox broadcast. Related : When he is involved, Brady — who describes his role as 'being there in a visionary role' — only seems authentic when he's belittling something or angry. He joins his friends in talking condescendingly about the city and the team as they're on he way to see the Blues' aged facilities for the first time. Before a game against Wrexham — famously owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney — Brady tells the camera, 'Let's go get a [expletive] win against Wrexham ... Ryan Reynolds, Mackilrey, whatever your [expletive] name is.' Advertisement When Wagner informs Brady that putting together a swag bag for visiting legend David Beckham would be considered a faux pas — Beckham never played for the team — Brady gets a look on his face that suggests Joey Galloway just ran the wrong route again. He tells Wagner through a scowl that Beckham should be gifted something anyway. He likes to talk about how he was an underdog, but he comes across as someone who can no longer remember what that was like, or what he was like. The most off-putting scene occurred in the opening episode when Brady, Wagner, and his team strategized in the back of an SUV before popping into a local pub to meet some fans for a quick public-relations opportunity and a few more Lasso vibes. 'We have to feel this one out, boys,'' Brady says. 'This is not my thing.' He's told it will only be 15 minutes. He asks if he'll be signing autographs. The pop-in is designed to make him look like a man of the people. He's friendly enough once he's in the pub, but we know how he really feels. His people these days aren't the ones chugging beers. I was hoping while watching the series that Brady might have a revelation by the fifth episode, ditch the processed corporate speak, abandon the arrogant expectation that whatever he says carries weight because of what he accomplished in the NFL, and show some authentic emotion, like he did after winning those first few Super Bowls. I was hoping any success he found in Birmingham would remind him of his best times with the Patriots, and thereby bring out genuine emotions. Related : Advertisement Instead, that happened with, of all people, Wagner, the calculating investor, who by the end is fully invested in the people on this team. I won't spoil the circumstances, because this show is worth watching, despite the Brady frustrations. In the fifth episode, Wagner makes a truly stirring and heartfelt speech, and as I was watching it, I couldn't help but think, 'Man, when the private-equity guy can summon more passion than Tom Brady, that's awfully damning.' Hmmm. Maybe Fox should give Wagner a shot as its lead NFL analyst. Tom Brady comes back to Gillette Stadium for the unveiling of this statue before the New England Patriots preseason game versus the Washington Commanders. Chad Finn can be reached at
Los Angeles Times
3 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Combine Pedro Almodóvar with stop-motion and you get Adult Swim's most unexpected yet perfect show
In the annals of things I could not have seen coming, none has been more unexpected than 'Women Wearing Shoulder Pads,' a queer Spanish-language stop-motion comedy melodrama, set in the aesthetic world of a 1980s Pedro Almodóvar film. (It arrives Sunday at midnight on Adult Swim, the home of things one doesn't see coming, and premieres the next day on HBO Max.) Though it takes place in Ecuador, its central character, Marioneta Negocios (Pepa Pallarés), is Spanish, and it's easy enough to imagine Almodóvar muse Carmen Maura in the role — though it is also impossible to imagine the story told as well, or at all, in any other way. When I call this series perfect, notwithstanding the happy imperfections of its puppets and sets, it's not because everything works as its meant to, but because there's nothing you can measure it against — it occupies its own self-created space. Every element is necessary. Even presenting it in English would be to lose romantic, dramatic, telenovelistic force. At the center of the story is the cuy, a guinea pig eaten in Andean South America, though in this telling they're also used in a version of bullfighting. (Some cuys are large enough to ride on.) The primary action is a power struggle between Marioneta, a socialite running a campaign promoting cuy as pets, not food, and Doña Quispe (Laura Torres), who has risen from life as a humble butcher to the anything-but-humble CEO of the country's most famous restaurant, El Cuchillo (the knife). Mixed up in their lives are Coquita Buenasuerte (Gabriela Cartol), Marioneta's seemingly happy-go-lucky assistant; Espada Muleta (Kerygma Flores), a matadora in love with Marioneta; Nina (Nicole Vazquez), Doña Quispe's vegetarian daughter, serving a pro-cuy group as its Minister of Refreshments and Head of Recruitment for Rebellious Teens — 'I have looked upon the caged cuy through the prison of capitalist enterprise, through the hubristic iron bars of a homocentric world view' — who will become a pawn in the older women's game. Not everything will be as it seems. Created by Gonzalo Cordova (a veteran of 'Tuca & Bertie' and 'Adam Ruins Everything') and produced by the Mexican animation studio Cinema Fantasma, the series comes packaged as eight 11-minute episodes — that is cartoon length — which neatly constitute a short feature film. On the bill are mystery, suspense, terror, revenge, hot romance (including some puppet sex), masked stalkers, performance art, love notes posted with knives, parodies of television shows and commercials, old secrets coming to light and nuns singing karaoke. From 'Gumby' to 'Rudolph' to 'Wallace and Gromit' to 'The Fantastic Mr. Fox,' stop motion is of all forms of animation most magical and in its real-space, three dimensional, handcrafted way the most like life, if not necessarily the most lifelike. (It can look ungainly, which is also part of its charm.) It's a magnification of childhood playtime, a puppet show in which the puppets have broken loose from the puppeteers. The cleverness of the execution is as or more important than how seamless it is. 'Women Wearing Shoulder Pads' does all sorts of neat tricks, some you notice and more you simply accept — and when deemed necessary, or just amusing, it will insert a live-action hand or mouth. It's an exaggerated world — appropriately to the heavy-breathing material — but emotionally expressive, even moving, and lots of fun.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Why So Many Southerners Go By Their Middle Names
We asked our readers to help demystify this unique tradition. We recently shared a story about double-name rules that every Southerner should know (namely, never shorten or abbreviate one without express permission), and the comments went wild. It turns out lots of y'all have double names and were glad to see us advocating for the Mary Jos and Patty Anns of the world. But there was another camp in the comment section requesting some overdue acknowledgement as well: 'Can you do a post about middle-name-ers too?' We aim to please, so here's a little love for the Middle Name Crowd (which includes actress Reese Witherspoon). We tip our hats to all y'all—and your neglected first names too. Why Some Southerners Go By Their Middle Names We turned to our Facebook audience to get to the bottom of the unique tradition, asking, 'Are you a Southerner who goes by their middle name? Tell us the story behind your moniker!' We got nearly 250 comments, which shed a bit more light on the sometimes sticky situation. To Avoid Confusion For many parents naming their children, going by the middle name is a matter of practicality—and avoiding a case of mistaken identity. Wrote one Southern Living reader, 'My dad, grandfather, and great-grandfather all had the same first name. They all went by their middle names.' Imagine the confusion if you called for Earl and three people answered you! To Honor A Loved One A handful of readers noted that they went by their second name because it once belonged to a treasured family member or friend. That's the case for Southern Living's very own Editor in Chief, Sid Evans. 'I'm a Jr., so I have my father's name, but he wanted to call me Sid after a beloved uncle,' he says. To Help the Flow Sometimes, it's a simple matter of what sounds better. 'Myself and my 3 oldest siblings all go by our middle names,' wrote another reader. 'Our names just are easier on the ear in the order our parents placed them. But they got smart on kid #5 and went with calling him by his first name as it sounds better that way too!' To Make the Most of a Moniker You've got to work with what you've got. Joked one reader, who punctuated her comment with a laughing emoji, 'Although I'm not real keen on my middle name, which I go by, I dislike my first name even more! I guess it's the lesser of two evils!!' The Downside of Going By Your Middle Name While there are plenty of practical and heartwarming reasons for a parent to call their child by a middle name, lots of commenters who go by their middle names were very vocal about the pain points that often accompany the practice. 'Named after my mom, so to avoid confusion, I go by my middle name, which causes all kinds of legal issues,' wrote one reader. 'If you're an expecting parent, don't name your child one name and call him/her by their middle. It truly is a huge hassle.' Another wrote, 'All of my financial, business, medical, passport/ID have my first name. Such a pain.' There were so many similar comments about the legal and everyday frustrations associated with the tradition that one reader took it upon himself to sum things up: 'Long story short… it's a curse to go by your middle name.' Even so, other middle name-ers, like Sid, take it in stride: 'For airlines, credit card companies, hotels, etc., I just let them call me John.' Read the original article on Southern Living Solve the daily Crossword
