Keke Palmer (Hustlers) has signed-on to host and executive produce Disney+ Reality Food Competition, FOODTASTIC! Palmer will host alongside judges Chef Benny Rivera of NYC’s City Cakes and FLOUR SHOP‘s Amirah Kassem. The Series is 11 episodes long and arrives December 15, 2021 on Disney+.

Synopsis:

In each self-contained episode, three teams of food artists transform iconic characters into extravagant masterpieces that tell a story from Disney‘s legendary IP. These food sculptures will be judged purely on their design, technical skills and narrative, and not by taste. Unused food from each competition will be donated to local food banks.

(Photo credit: Disney)

GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE scares aware the competition with a $40.5 million opening this weekend from 4,315 theatres for Sony Pictures. The third installment in the original Franchise gets 61% on the Tomatometer.

In second is Marvel Studios’ ETERNALS with $10.8 million for Disney from 4,055 theatres. Over three weeks it has grossed $135.8 million in North America.

Third goes to CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG with $9 million from 3,628 theatres for eOne Films/Paramount Pictures, a two week tally of $33.5 million.

Fourth spot goes to KING RICHARD, based on the life of Venus and Serena Williams‘ father Richard, with $6.5 million from 3,302 theatres for Warner Bros. It gets 92% on the Tomatometer.

Rounding-out the Top Five is DUNE with $3 million for Warner Bros., a total five week run of $98.2 million.

By Mr. Will Wong

After a lengthy six-year gap, Adele is back with her elaborately-publicized and promoted fourth Studio Disc, 30. The Album candidly explores life after divorce, motherhood, the tolls of fame and finding love once again.

Adele teams-up with Co-Writer Greg Kurstin on a majority of the tracks on this 12-track collection which feels cohesive and cinematic. Many are calling this her most personal Album yet and it is hard to disagree. “My Little Love” for one, features Voice Notes with her conversing with son Angelo, explaining divorce to him. She opens-up to us in the manner of a Fourth Wall, telling us about feeling sad and directionless, building-up to a tearful confessional. First single “Easy on Me” needs no introduction and is a letter to her son, pleading for him to be understanding of her decision to split from his father. Adele comes through filter-free and we’re all ears.

“Oh My God” takes us a little more into the uptempo and explores the terrifying emotions of feeling love once again despite “knowing that it’s wrong” even though “it feels right”. She gives herself permission to let go after some of the heavier emotions in the first few tracks. “Can I Get It” has Adele teaming with Pop Maestros Shellback and Max Martin on this guitar-driven banger where she shows her readiness to love again, asking for a bit of substance.

The Final Act of 30 veers more to introspection as it takes a soulful turn, taking us to Motown and this is the 120 million+-selling Chanteuse really brings on the heartache that we’ve come to yearn for. “Hold On” is blue but hopeful as she walks us through her struggle to feel once again but a reminder to be patient, and “To Be Loved“, co-written and co-produced by Vancouver’s Tobias Tesso Jr. soars in its heartfelt honesty where she poignantly sings how hard she tried in the name of love. The greatest performance perhaps is saved for the Finale in “Love is a Game“, which certainly is an homage to trailblazer Amy Winehouse. Adele sings with a raw vulnerability about the reality of love coming with heartache and pain, and how cruel it is that we “self-inflict that pain” upon ourselves.

30 is an Album that could only have been made and released after some time away and clarity, and we’re glad for it all. While there isn’t the immediate visceral connection here as on classics like “Someone Like You“, “All I Ask” or “Rolling in the Deep“, Adele gives us new things to listen-out for with each pass through. The Album is yet another accomplished effort in a Adele‘s deeply-affecting catalog and satiating at just under an hour runtime.

Sony Music Canada release Adele‘s 30, in stores now.

Robert Jordan‘s Fantasy series THE WHEEL OF TIME has amassed a huge following around the globe, with 90+ million books being sold. The Series gets adapted into a TV Series, arriving this weekend on Prime Video.

Don’t know much about these Novels? No worries, the Series which consists of eight episodes, takes its time doing a bit of world-building so you don’t need to have read the source material to get into this.

The Series centers around the fierce Moirane (Rosamund Pike) who is a member of a powerful organization of women called the Aes Sedai, whom have magical abilities. Moirane takes five men and women with her on an adventure and one of them could well be the reincarnation of the Dragon. They are Egwene (Madeleine Madden), Nynaeve (Zoë Robins), Rand (Josha Stradowski), Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) and Mat (Barney Harris). This however could be either a wonderful thing for the world or completely catastrophic.

Moriane is accompanied by her Warder al’Lan Mandragoran (Daniel Henney), whose job is to protect her and we await their story to unfold over the Series as they ground the story, as we get closer to discovering whom of the five contenders might be the Dragon. Pike is a real presence and we could not keep our eyes off of her, and we’re delighted she is getting this chance for the world to see her talent in such an accessible way. Above this, we love the inclusivity in the Series’ casting choices. While the Series takes place way in the past, it is years ahead in its progressiveness.

While it certainly unfolds at a slower pace, the investment should pay off for fans of the Franchise as the Series really focuses on the details and staying faithful. Visually, it is a spectacle with some really cool CGI, in ways filling the void left behind in the genre as fans await an upcoming Game of Thrones Prequel.

The first three episodes of THE WHEEL OF TIME premiere on Prime Video November 19, 2021 with new episodes weekly, until December 24, 2021.

SOUTH PARK: POST COVID is coming soon on Paramount+ and here we get a chance to see what the beloved characters of SOUTH PARK were up to during the Pandemic!

Synopsis:

In SOUTH PARK: POST COVID, we’ll find out the answer to the question: what happened to the children who lived through the pandemic? Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny survived, but will never be the same post COVID. “South Park” the series launched on August 13, 1997, and is based on the VHS-shared, animated short entitled “The Spirit of Christmas.” 

SOUTH PARK: POST COVID arrives on Paramount+ November 25, 2021.

(Photo/video credit: Paramount+)

Right in time for Valentine’s Day comes MARRY ME starring Maluma, Owen Wilson and Jennifer Lopez!

Synopsis:

Packed with original songs by Jennifer Lopez and global Latin music star Maluma, Marry Me arrives next Valentine’s Day with Lopez starring as musical superstar Kat Valdez and Owen Wilson as Charlie Gilbert, a math teacher—total strangers who agree to marry and then get to know each other. An unlikely romance about two different people searching for something real in a world where value is based on likes and followers, Marry Me is a modern love story about celebrity, marriage and social media.

Kat Valdez (Lopez) is half of the sexiest celebrity power couple on Earth with hot new music supernova Bastian (Maluma, making his feature-film debut). As Kat and Bastian’s inescapable hit single, “Marry Me,” climbs the charts, they are about to be wed before an audience of their fans in a ceremony that will be streamed across multiple platforms. 

Divorced high-school math teacher Charlie Gilbert (Owen Wilson) has been dragged to the concert by his daughter Lou (Chloe Coleman, Big Little Lies) and his best friend (Sarah Silverman). When Kat learns, seconds before the ceremony, that Bastian has cheated on her with her assistant, her life turns left as she has a meltdown on stage, questioning love, truth and loyalty. As her gossamer world falls away, she locks eyes with a stranger—a face in the crowd.

If what you know lets you down, then perhaps what you don’t know is the answer, and so, in a moment of inspired insanity, Kat chooses to marry Charlie. What begins as an impulsive reaction evolves into an unexpected romance. But as forces conspire to separate them, the universal question arises: Can two people from such different worlds bridge the gulf between them and build a place where they both belong?

The film also stars John Bradley (Game of Thrones), Michelle Buteau (Michelle Buteau: Welcome to Buteaupia) and Utkarsh Ambudkar (Mulan).

Also check-out the first single from the Soundtrack, “On My Way“:

Universal Pictures Canada release MARRY ME Friday, February 12, 2020.

(Photo/video credit: Universal Pictures Canada)

EMILY IN PARIS is back and here’s your first look at the Season Two Trailer!

New stills:

EMILY IN PARIS Season Two arrives December 2, 2021.

(Photo credit: Netflix)

Featuring an all-Blondie Soundtrack, new Comedy OFF THE RAILS stars Judi Dench, Jenny Seagrove, and the late Kelly Preston. 

Synopsis:

Three fifty-something women set out to repeat the European inter-railing adventures of their youth after their close friend passes away leaving them rail tickets, and a final request: to take her teenage daughter with them.

Vortex Media release OFF THE RAILS digitally and on-demand December 10, 2021.

(Photo/video credit: Vortex Media)

Acclaimed high-end Italian Drama series GOMORRAH is set to debut in Canada on Hollywood Suite with the first three seasons arriving next month, a total 36 episodes, followed by the Gomorrah feature film The Immortal and seasons 4 and 5 in the new year. The Series is distributed in the U.S. by HBO Max.

Synopsis:

Based on Roberto Saviano’s bestselling book, the gritty Naples-set crime drama paints a portrait of the brutal Neapolitan crime organisation the Camorra. More popular than Game of Thrones in its native Italy, the award-winning series set a new standard for Italian television following its debut in 2014, and has gone on to receive widespread acclaim from both viewers and critics alike. To date, the series has been shown in over 190 territories worldwide, with The New York Times rating it in the top five of the top 30 international shows of the past decade.

GOMORRAH seasons 1-3 broadcast on Hollywood Suite beginning December 6, 2021, with new episodes airing weekly on Mondays at 9pm ET. Seasons 4 and 5 will come to Hollywood Suite in early 2022, along with the feature film The Immortal and documentary special The Gomorrah Files.

The Queen of Christmas is back with a brand-new Special coming to Apple TV+. See this first look at MARIAH’S CHRISTMAS: THE MAGIC CONTINUES! The Special will include an exclusive interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe and Mariah Carey, along with her 10-year-old twins, son Moroccan and daughter Monroe, as they share favorite holiday moments, and Carey celebrates her beloved holiday classic, “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” and Apple TV+’s perennial smash-hit, “Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special“.

MARIAH’S CHRISTMAS: THE MAGIC CONTINUES arrives Friday, December 3, 2021 on Apple TV+.

(Photo/video credit: Apple TV+)