Connect with us

Entertainment

Jim Acosta Goes Behind Enemy Lines for Reflecting Pool Investigation

Published

on

Jim Acosta went boots on the ground and “behind enemy lines” to investigate what’s really going on with the Reflecting Pool.

On Wednesday, Acosta posted a video to social media in which he treats the area like a warzone – noting the roving National Guard troops and circling helicopters – to get to the bottom of what he called “the biggest mystery in D.C.”

“I traveled behind enemy lines down to the National Mall Reflecting Pool, where helicopters circled overhead, to get to the bottom of the biggest mystery in D.C. right now,” Acosta explained.

He continued: “I know this assignment is dangerous because I can see members of the National Guard circling the pool in search of any alleged vandals who might even think for just a second that they could pull up a piece of blue paint. I could tell just by looking at these cute little ducklings that they, too, are afraid.”

Acosta then went hunting for the 300-foot-long cut President Donald Trump insists exists. The journalist walked up and down the area, but said there was no sign of the vandalism and that it might be another in a long line of Trump’s lies.

“I have looked up and down this pool so far. I don’t see any sign of any slit,” Acosta said. “I do see a lot of paint coming up, but no sign of a 300-foot-long slit or lots of slits as he’s been talking about. Again, shocker here, I’m sorry to report, what he’s saying is 100% pure bulls–t.”

“I’m walking down the other side of the reflecting pool and you can see just how much Donald Trump is lying about this, how out to lunch he is on all of this,” he concluded. “You can see whole sections of the bottom of the reflection pool where the paint has just come off of that bottom. It is just not there anymore, in part because they just did such a shoddy job down here that the paint is literally disintegrated in sections of this reflecting pool. And you can’t see a slit, there are no slits, as he’s been talking about, it’s all a lie.”

Trump spent the last week banging the drum of alleged vandalism happening at the pool. He even went so far as to threaten to sue ABC for their “fake news” coverage of its condition.

“In describing the Vandalism that took place at the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., ABC FAKE NEWS, one of the worst in the business, even paying me $16,000,000 for past bad and inaccurate reporting, failed to report that their close ‘friends,’ Dumocrats Obama and Biden, spent over 100 Million Dollars on the Reflecting Pool, and it never worked,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday evening. “In fact, it was rarely open due to leaks and ‘stench.’ They wanted to spend 300 to 400 Million Dollars, but just let it ROT.”

“I spent approximately 16 Million Dollars, and it came out great, except for the Vandalism, which we are now fixing. It was also a much bigger job than originally envisioned, including the outer areas and sidewalks,” he added. “We are preparing lawsuits against ABC for false reporting. I like their money, which will be given to the U.S. Treasury!”

>

Continue Reading

Entertainment

How The Bear Ended After 5 Seasons

Published

on

Note: This story contains spoilers from “The Bear” Season 5, Episode 8.

“The Bear” wrapped up its final service in heartwarming fashion, with a triumphant series finale that served as an emotional epilogue to a particularly chaotic day at the titular Chicago restaurant.

After four seasons of inventive storytelling and big-name guest stars, Season 5 hyperfocused on the efforts of the Bear staff to get through one busy service, brought upon by a glitch in the reservation system that overbooked the restaurant after a massive rainstorm — with the chefs not having enough food and having to ration portion sizes to make it work. This was all happening while Cicero (Oliver Platt) decided whether to sell the building that housed the restaurant and close it down for good, and after Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) decided to leave his post but was still sticking around in the transition.

The penultimate episode saw as the team barreled through the reservations, along with impressing a Michelin star critic and his local celebrity guest Tom Skilling; a show of tremendous growth for everyone on the staff built under Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), Sugar (Abby Elliott) and Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach).

Below, read how “The Bear” ended its run after five seasons:

End of service

Episode 8, titled “The Original Beef of Chicagoland,” began the morning after that difficult day of service, as the characters prepared to do it all over again with the promise of changes looming large in the kitchen. Sugar and Richie celebrated making payroll and making enough to buy supplies and do repairs after the storm — but there was no money left to count as profits this time.

Sydney and Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) reflected on how the stress of the night before led to their best work yet. “We’re going to fight all together,” Tina said, as the crew arrived for a new day.

Sydney also spoke with Carmy, asking him what he was planning to do when he finally let go of the Bear. He said he had an idea in his mind, but refused to share any details. That led to her playfully messing with him for having no real skills for the job market.

the-bear-ayo-edebiri-fx
Ayo Edebiri in “The Bear.” (FX)

Later, Sugar asked Carmy about a man who called asking about the restaurant and noting that he had been trying to reach the chef directly. He likely was behind the unidentified caller Carmy ignored in Episode 7. He assured her of his plans to leave, while she maintained no one was telling him to go anywhere.

Sugar made sure to praise Sydney for her leadership the night before, noting that she wasn’t worried about looking at the restaurant’s numbers because the Bear finally had a proper “captain” to guide them through the chaos. Sydney admitted that despite going through hell the night before, it felt like they were all exactly where they were meant to be.

The man looking for Carmy, named Peter Clark, finally got ahold of him and shared something that left him in shock. Sydney pressed him for information and he eventually relented. Turns out the man who tested the Bear for a Michelin star hadn’t shown up the night before as they had thought, but two months prior on a night they had not clocked him. He called the food “truly exceptional and creative” and all kinds of other compliments.

He gave the Bear two Michelin stars, officially cementing the restaurant as a bona fide hit. Sydney and Carmy celebrated their triumph with a silent hug, opting not to share the great news with the rest of the staff until after service.

the-bear-liza-colon-zayas-ayo-edebiri-ebon-moss-bachrach-jeremy-allen-white-disney
Liza Colón-Zayas, Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jeremy Allen White in “The Bear.” (FX)

Beef supremacy

Ebra (Edwin Lee Gibson) spent most of the season working up the courage to pitch his idea to franchise the Beef to Carmy — a pitch that ended up landing just right with Cicero’s confidante Cheese (Elsie Fisher). At the start of the series finale he was still practicing his pitch, unaware that Cicero was already coming to his nephew with his decision.

Cicero encouraged Carmy not to give up on his dreams just because things got hard. He then spilled the beans on the franchise idea, which Carmy immediately accepted as a smart move for the business. But he was still set on leaving the restaurant to Sydney, admitting that Lee (Bob Odenkirk) was right when he said he had to “break patterns” so he could find what truly makes him happy.

Later, Ebra shared the pitch with the other Beef employees, who gave him their support. Carmy quickly came in and Ebra started to share his long-winded pitch; but Carmy stopped him almost immediately and gave him the green light. We later saw Ebra and team check out a new location for the first Beef franchise — setting the stage for its success.

the-bear-ebon-moss-bachrach-fx
Ebon Moss-Bachrach in “The Bear.” (FX)

The Bears are alright

As the finale unfolded, some on staff looked into new opportunities. Richie was invited to a professional seminar in Japan — which after some hesitation he decided to accept despite his fear of flying, thanks to a heartwarming heart-to-heart with Carmy.

He also took things to the next level with Jess (Sarah Ramos), sharing a flirty moment before the start of the new day’s service — which included an engagement reservation. Jess ended up going with him to Japan, solidifying the new couple before series’ end.

Before going into the restaurant, Marcus (Lionel Boyce) said goodbye to Chef Luca (Will Poulter), who was heading back to Copenhagen following his short tenure at the Bear. After some tension the day before, they ended their partnership with an “I Love You” and the promise to see each other again soon.

As for Tina, she celebrated her promotion to Chef de Cuisine with a warm conversation with her husband, who assured she was more than ready to take on the demanding role. Sydney also reunited with her dad, who made sure to tell her how proud he was of all her accomplishments.

Stevie (John Mulaney) got Carmy a meeting with a woman named Sue (special guest star Bonnie Hunt), and encouraged him to go in ready to share all his pain and trauma. In a passionate monologue, and an incredible performance from White, he opened up about the danger and nerve-wracking nature of restaurants, and his desire to bring the passion at the center of the profession to light through art.

Sue turned out to be an architect interviewing him for an intern position — so who knows why Stevie gave him that advice. But the talk made him realize his rightful place was back with his fellow Bears at the restaurant. He’s not going anywhere after all!

The episode ended with Richie finally bringing his daughter Eva (Annabelle Toomey) to the Bear, which turned out to be hosting a surprise birthday party full of her friends and loved ones — including Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis), ex-wife Tiff (Gillian Jacobs), Claire Bear (Molly Gordon) and many other members of the family. Carmy also texted his late brother, telling him “All’s good” after all this time.

Even the Faks got a couple of silly moments out of their system before the end of the series — all is right in Chicagoland.

“The Bear” Season 5 is now streaming on Hulu.

>

Continue Reading

movies

Scott Pelley Signs With CAA After CBS News Firing

Published

on

Following his ousting from 60 Minutes and CBS News earlier this month, Scott Pelley has found new representation.

Deadline can confirm the 51x Emmy-winning news anchor has signed with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) just weeks after he was fired over an alleged confrontation with new executive producer Nick Bilton under Bari Weiss’ reign.

While many current and former 60 Minutes correspondents are represented by UTA, Pelley joins former colleague Lesley Stahl in the CAA family.

Related Stories

More than 35 years into his CBS career, Pelley was fired on June 2 over a verbal confrontation in which he put the new leadership on blast. In a letter to Pelley, Bilton said they could not “find a path forward together” following the confrontation, which he called a “performative display of hostility.”

In his first interview since the termination, Pelley told The New York Times that the new leadership doesn’t “know what they’re doing.”

“We have people who’ve been installed in these jobs who through no fault of their own have no experience in television,” said Pelley. “They don’t know what they’re doing. And there’s a subtle political bias that I’ve never seen at 60 Minutes before, or at CBS News before. So that is my hope: a return to sanity. We can save this. It’s possible to land this plane. But right now, CBS News is on fire.

>

Continue Reading

Entertainment

‘Camp’ Review: Friendship Is Magic, and Tragic, in Avalon Fast’s World

Published

on

Lots of disturbing movies take place at summer camps. “Friday the 13th,” “Sleepaway Camp,” “Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation,” the list goes on, and it just keeps going because shoving dozens of kids into an emotional pressure cooker at the edge of civilization with minimal supervision and no escape is usually a bad idea. And that’s before you give them all bows and arrows.

Avalon Fast’s sophomore feature isn’t a typical summer camp horror movie. It’s a trippy, melancholic tragedy about healing psychic wounds, and finding out they’re already infected. Try to imagine an angsty, indie teen drama that’s parasitically burrowing its way into a Florence + The Machine music video. Now imagine it’s in theaters now and it’s called “Camp.”

“Truth or Dare” is a crappy game, even on “Love Island,” but it’s even crappier at the start of “Camp.” The halfhearted young friends of Emily (Zola Grimmer) can barely muster enough gusto to come up with a dare, and when they give up, their fallback “truth” is just asking her for her biggest regret. It may have been a haircut. It may have been the time she ran over a four-year-old with her car. Either way it’s a lousy icebreaker.

As if her night couldn’t get any worse, Emily’s best friend overdoses in her car, sending her spiraling into grief and misery. Months go by and her father arranges to get her a camp counseling gig, looking after other troubled youths at a place called only “Camp.” (I’d say the least plausible part of Fast’s film is that the domain name “camp.net” wasn’t already taken, but shut my mouth, because it really isn’t.)

The kids are non-entities, a vague distraction from her worries, but her fellow counselors are badasses. They smoke. They drink. They say things like, “I feel like doing drugs” and look, you gotta give ‘em credit, when they say they’re going to do something they do it. I can’t even take the recycling downstairs most of the time and here these girls are, saying they feel like doing drugs and then doing the damn drugs, making me feel like a lazy jerk.

There’s just one problem. Or maybe there isn’t. Emily’s new cohort, led by the alluring and oddly motherly Clara (Alice Wordsworth), begins each summer with a ritual to make their wishes come true. Nev (Lea Rose Sebastianis) wishes to have sex with their boss, Dan (Austyn Van De Camp), “really, really hard” and wouldn’t you know it, her wish was essentially a command.

Avalon Fast knows that’s wrong, but she knows her characters don’t care very much. Dan starts trudging across the camp grounds, confused and disturbed. He was saving himself for marriage, the poor guy, and looks like he’s on the verge of something terrible. But sacrificing Dan’s virginity gave Emily and her friends a taste of power, and it manifests in sparkly animated hand flourishes, which do nothing, it seems, except look cool. But it’s their power and they’re taking it, and they’ll take a lot more.

The problem with describing the plot of Fast’s “Camp” is that it places way, way too much emphasis on the plot. This movie doesn’t run from scene to scene, it gradually sinks into emotional rot. Emily thinks she’s getting better, finding friends and — in her own way — finding her spirituality. It’s just a selfish, detached spirituality and sees no value in anyone else’s feelings. Or anything else about them. What looks like a film about finding your way back from the darkness is, instead, a labyrinth that Emily probably can’t solve. She may not even want to.

“Camp” is a dreary, disturbing day dream of a movie, the kind you have when you’re all in your feels and close to getting heatstroke. It’s not about getting better, it’s about getting worse, and how that sometimes feels like getting better. You may not have worked through your baggage, you may not have processed your trauma, but at least everything looks simple. You can just while away your days with excess, abandoning all empathy, even for yourself.

It’s a sad film, “Camp,” and it’s a little tricky. Fast is working with familiar horror movie clichés, and falling into the old routine where witchcraft is initially empowering, then horrifying, and that probably doesn’t do real-life witches many favors. Then again, neither do a lot of the classic witch films — especially “The Craft,” the goth 1990s elephant in the room — and most of them aren’t as emotionally salient as Fast’s interpretation, although they’re typically more “fun.”

“Camp” isn’t a fun movie. That’s not a criticism, it’s just the way it is. Avalon Fast’s gloomy, lo-fi aesthetic occasionally segues into ornate, gorgeous imagery, proving the filmmaker — and cinematographer Eily Sprungman — are in total creative control. Fast wants us to feel Emily’s despair and the futile moral ambiguity of her distractions. It’s a cautionary tale, perhaps, about not hanging out with the wrong crowd, or taking solace in mind-altering experiences, but more than anything it’s a sympathetic mirror, and it’s pointed at anyone who ever got lost.

>

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2017 Zox News Theme. Theme by MVP Themes, powered by WordPress.