Latest news with #indie
Forbes
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Netflix's Best New Movie Is An Unlikely Indie With 97% On Rotten Tomatoes
Nicolas Cage stars in the 2021 film 'Pig.' On paper, the premise for Pig sounds like the setup for a Nicolas Cage punchline: a loner of a man ventures out into the woods to rescue his stolen truffle pig. But it's not a self-aware John Wick-esque genre riff played for laughs, nor is it an over-the-top revenge thriller backed by a big budget. No, this quietly profound film is something much more; it's a meditation on grief and memory that uses its bizarre premise not for shock or irony, but for tenderness. Oh, and it also happens to be one of the best-reviewed movies of the 21st century. And it was added to Netflix this morning, accompanying what is already a stellar lineup of movies for the month of May. No, Pig is not at all what you'd expect. But perhaps more surprising than the film's shocking sophistication is the fact that more people haven't seen it, that the movie isn't much more talked about. Because very few films have achieved such great success on Rotten Tomatoes: a 97% score from 272 reviews—a feat almost unheard of for any modern film, let alone a subdued indie about a truffle-hunting recluse and his stolen pig. That amount of positive reviews broaches nearly unmatched territory, recalling what many consider to be the highest-rated movie ever on Rotten Tomatoes, Mad Max: Fury Road, which also scored 97% from 439 reviews. Not many films remain in the high-90s when approaching 300 reviews, which begs the question: shouldn't we all be watching and talking about this movie? Despite its seemingly absurd premise, Pig from director Michael Sarnoski (who also directed A Quiet Place: Day One) is anything but conventional. The film's central star, the often bug-eyed Bela Lugosi super-fan Nicolas Cage, plays Rob, a former fine-dining chef who abandons his past and decides to live deep in the Oregon wilderness with his pig, foraging truffles and avoiding any and all contact with human beings. After a violent break-in that results in his pig being stolen, Rob heads back to Portland not to seek vengeance, but to search for his lost friend—quietly, painfully, and without compromise. What follows is an incredibly emotional journey that requires some heavy acting from Mr. Cage. Critics didn't just like Pig—they were floored by it. Matt Zoller Seitz of gave the film a raving four-star review, calling it 'beguiling' and 'confounding,' the kind of movie that dares to defy genre expectations. Though it teases a gritty revenge plot, the film instead unfolds like a '70s-style picaresque character study. 'Its commitment to its own oddball vision is what makes it linger in the mind,' Seitz writes. 'It's attentive to regret and failure in ways that American films tend to avoid.' In Variety, Michael Nordine praised Cage's 'best performance in years," marveling at the film's ability to 'feel both out there and grounded, often at the same time.' He notes how Cage's portrayal of Rob brings a wounded sincerity to even the film's most bizarre moments, like underground fight clubs for restaurant workers or chapter titles named after recipes. Cage, he writes, finds something 'close to the profound in it all.' Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter highlights Pig's unorthodox emotional prowess, describing it as 'a recipe that takes chances, even if not every ingredient works.' She praises the unlikely chemistry between Cage and Alex Wolff, who plays Amir, a snarky young truffle dealer reluctantly drawn into Rob's mission. Their mismatched dynamic anchors the story, with Linden pointing out how Wolff subtly reveals the self-doubt beneath Amir's ambition. 'Through it all,' she writes, 'Cage plays the enigmatic central character at the perfect simmering temperature, and without a shred of ham.' Pig takes its time, trades catharsis for contemplation, rarely delivers what you expect—and that's exactly why it has resonated so deeply with audiences and critics alike. It's a film about food, yes, but also about identity, about loss, about what remains when everything else is stripped away. Rob doesn't just want his pig back; he wants to remember who he was when he still cared about something bigger than himself. At 92 minutes, Pig wastes absolutely nothing—not a word, not a look, not a moment. It's a lean, haunting film that sneaks up on you and stays there. And with a Rotten Tomatoes score this high, we can officially deem them gem more than a cult classic—it's a critical titan. And it's now streaming on Netflix. So be sure you don't miss it if you're a subscriber.
ABC News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
The Grogans - Stagger
Stagger is the new album from The Grogans. Fusing elements of indie, psych and surf, it's a rock album packed with energy. The Naarm/Melbourne trio have delivered some of their best work with no frills and no worries. Stagger by The Grogans, our feature album all this week on triple j…
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Son, 21, of legendary singers follows in his parents' footsteps as he puts on an music event - but can YOU guess who the nepo baby is?
He's the son of two legendary singers who found fame when the indie/rock scene exploded in the Nineties. And now this nepo baby has followed in his parents' footsteps, announcing on Instagram this week that he was hosting a music event and encouraging his 3,000 Instagram followers to come on down. While he has launched a singing career of his own in recent years, this event saw him work behind the scenes as he hosted a gig at a pub in north London. The singer, 21, is the spitting image of his famous parents, who dated briefly in 2003, amid a string of high-profile relationships for the pair. So, can you guess who it is? From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. That's right, it's Astile Doherty! The singer and photographer is the son of Kill City's Lisa Moorish and The Libertines frontman Pete Doherty. Proud mum Lisa, 53, was quick to praise her son's work on the music event, taking to Instagram on Thursday to share a sweet snap with Astile as she plugged the event. Lisa penned: 'This beautiful young man @astile_doherty @astile_doherty_photography my one and only son, is having a do at the @theboogaloopub as part of music events team @upthe_mgmt TONIGHT! 'It's called 'UP THE BOOGALOO' You can still grab tickets, or pay on the door. Link with allll the details in his bio via @astile_doherty and @upthe_mgmt bio. 'There will be live music and raucous behaviour & dancing for sure! (This photo was taken on his 21st birthday).' Astile also plugged the event on social media, sharing a video of himself announcing the lineup and promising the attendees a 'very special night'. Astile is Pete's eldest child. Pete and Lisa met while his band Libertines were on tour in 2002 when he met the Kill City singer. She gave birth to their son the following year. The singer was once-banned from seeing his son because of his drug habit, but after going to rehab and getting clean, he became a much more hands-on dad. Lisa told Metro in 2009: 'Peter has on-and-off problems with his recovery so it was a really difficult decision to make... 'But when he came out of rehab last year, and started to get his life in order I thought the time was right. I want Astile to have a dad.' Pete was reported to have said: 'When I can claim to have any sort of control over my own life, I'm going to take some responsibility for Astile. I love the little fella.' The rocker also has a daughter, Aisling, with model Lindi Hingston, who shared news of her daughter's arrival in 2012, a year after she was born. A week after Linda shared the news, Pete said: 'The little girl was two months premature. I said I'd try to be there for the birth... Yeah, she's mine.' Pete is now happily married to his Puta Madres bandmate Katia De Vidas and the couple welcomed daughter Billie-May in May 2023. Katia appears to have a good relationship with Astile, plugging his music event on her Instagram page. Meanwhile, Lisa is also mother to daughter Molly, 27, whom she shares with Liam Gallagher. Last year, in a surprise twist, Astile revealed he was launching a career as a tribute act to his half-sister's father. He played a gig channelling Liam at The Boat Yard in Leigh-on-Sea, with the event titled Liam on Sea. Molly - who was fathered when Liam was still in a relationship with Patsy Kensit - had no relationship with her dad until she was a teenager. She had, however, been in regular contact with her uncle Noel, and landed in the centre of a social media spat, with mum Lisa attacking Liam in 2017 as Molly backed Noel with the hashtag #FAMILYFIRST. In February 2018, Liam confessed to not meeting Molly yet and told The Mirror: 'I've just never got around to meeting her. I've heard she's all right, though. She's doing all right. I never heard anything that she wanted to meet me.' Liam revealed he wrote a song called Now That I've Found You about his formerly estranged daughter. In May 2018, Liam shared a snap on his Instagram with Molly and his two sons Gene and Lennon. It is thought that she came to watch her dad perform at the London Stadium along with her half-brothers and the two finally met.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sombr ‘Didn't Want to Just Do Ballads Forever' — So He Pushed the Tempo and Scored Two Hot 100 Hits
Shane Boose says that, if a piece of music can be described as 'alternative' or 'indie,' he's probably going to enjoy it. 'My favorite band of all time is Radiohead,' Boose, who records as Sombr, tells Billboard. 'And I'm a big fan of Jeff Buckley, Phoebe Bridgers, The 1975. I listen to a ton of alternative music — it's my genre.' Those influences help explain why Sombr's two fast-rising hit singles, 'Back to Friends' and 'Undressed,' have not only exploded on streaming services as crossover pop hits, but have also minted the 19-year-old singer-songwriter at rock and alternative platforms that have been starving for fresh new talent. On this week's Hot 100, 'Back to Friends' leaps up 14 spots to a new peak of No. 56, while 'Undressed' jumps 12 spots to No. 84; meanwhile, 'Back to Friends' hits the top 10 of the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart for the first time, bumping up to No. 9 with 'Undressed' close behind at No. 13. More from Billboard Ye Disses Kendrick Lamar & Tyler, the Creator Again: 'The Two Most Overrated So-Called Artist' Benson Boone Drops 'Mystical Magical' New Song After Its Live Debut at Coachella Chappell Roan's 'Casual' Reigns on Top Movie Songs After 'Novocaine' Appearance Sombr has been on the road over the past few weeks opening for Daniel Seavey in the U.S. — watching each day as his streaming totals grow (through Apr. 17, 'Back to Friends' had earned 40.7 million official on-demand streams, while 'Undressed' had earned 19.5 million streams, according to Luminate) and his crowd sizes swell. 'They 100 percent break my brain,' he says of the streaming totals. As for the crowds, 'You don't usually get to see it happening in real time, increasing every show, but being able to see that has just put it into perspective. When I've had moments in previous years, they've never been like this. And I've never gotten to visualize it while it was happening in real time.' Boose grew up on the Lower East Side and attended the prestigious LaGuardia High School, where he studied vocals while tinkering with GarageBand and Logic in his bedroom. 'I made the first few songs in a more shoegaze vein, and most of those songs aren't even out,' he says. 'And then I made the song 'Caroline' after listening to Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago album, and I'd like to think that's the first good song I ever made.' Released in mid-2022, 'Caroline' is indeed a sparse, wrenched folk song that Boose posted to TikTok before going to bed one night, and woke up the next morning to find thousands of reactions. He dropped out of high school, signed a deal with Warner Records in early 2023, then spent roughly two years trying to get lightning to strike for a second time with a string of singles, to little avail. Sombr, who still writes and produces all of his songs, says that he never got impatient while awaiting his breakthrough following his major label signing. 'I was just making music,' he says, 'and I'm a really hard worker. I like to think that, if you really put in the hours and manifest what you want, it will happen.' On the day that he made 'Back to Friends' in his bedroom, he played the finished chorus back, and felt that, with this song, it was finally going to happen for him. Released last December, 'Back to Friends' is a swirl of shakers, dramatic piano chords, fuzzed-out vocals full of post-hookup anxieties and harmonies that lob out rhetorical questions on the chorus. Along with March's 'Undressed,' a ghostly warble-along with an equally outsized chorus, Sombr has reinvented his sound over the course of two songs, moving on from the hushed singles released post-'Caroline' and toward slick, slightly swaggering alt-pop. 'I think they gave me a platform to make more upbeat music,' he says of the two tracks. 'Before 'Back to Friends,' all my music was very ballad-y — there was nothing with a beat. I was so tired of that. I feel like this is a lot more free, as far as the music I want to create. And I wanted my show to be more exciting. I didn't want to just do ballads forever.' After wrapping up his tour with Seavey last week, Sombr will next hit the road with Nessa Barrett, joining for a month-long European run that kicks off on May 26 in Dublin. Earlier this week, however, Sombr announced a fall headlining tour across North America that will start on Sept. 30 — and thanks to the surging momentum from 'Back to Friends' and 'Undressed,' pre-sale tickets apparently sold out within seconds. ('The response has been insane,' Sombr posted on Instagram. 'I hear you all. I am working on upgrades and new dates. Stay posted.') And while Sombr says that a proper debut album is 'definitely on the horizon,' he's trying to savor this singular moment. 'The last show in New York, it was the loudest it's ever been, and I got it in the pit,' he says before letting out a quick laugh. 'It's getting wild, and I love it. It's all I've ever wanted.' 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
Geek Girl Authority
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
Happy Game Archives
Categories Select Category Games GGA Columns Movies Stuff We Like The Daily Bugle TV & Streaming Solve disturbing puzzles to help a young boy escape a psychedelic nightmare. Happy Game is currently free in the Mobile Epic Games Store.
