LOSER: The Social Reckoning Teaser Trailer: Somehow, Zuckerberg returned. Sony Pictures’ first look at Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Network sequel was met with praise for Jeremy Strong‘s portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg — particularly nailing the tech titan’s voice. But the extremely self-serious trailer (watch it below) drew mockery online and unflattering, if rather premature, comparisons to its predecessor.
Opening in what looks like Middle-earth, Mikey Madison‘s Facebook whistleblower tells Jeremy Allen White‘s reporter, “I want to make something clear…” and then proceeds to deliver a nearly incomprehensible sentence (“IHaveaHuncYourNottaFanofFacebook”) that the internet has been having fun with. The footage includes Strong’s Zuckerberg turning into a malfunctioning android and concludes with a somber White saying of Madison’s character, “She’s disrupting” — which has to be the biggest trailer groaner since Felicity Jones declared “I rebel” in the Rogue One teaser. The footage is also weirdly stuffed with popping camera flashbulb effects as if the film was set in the 1950s.
Story-wise, The Social Reckoning might have a challenge. The social media hellscape has become so much worse since the film’s 2021 setting that fretting over the toxic and addictive algorithm used by your dad’s preferred news feed now seems more quaint than pressing. The Social Network had such a breezy and engaging fleetness, a quality one associates with Sorkin’s deft writing. So it’s odd this sequel — sorry, “companion piece,” per the studio — directed by Sorkin instead of David Fincher, feels so deathly solemn.
WINNER: Emily Blunt. Every review of Disclosure Day — positive, negative, mixed — agrees: Blunt is terrific in her role as a Kansas City newswoman who suddenly finds herself possessing unusual powers and being thrust into a conspiracy. The film is also a win for Steven Spielberg, who seems poised to pull off at least a solid success. The Universal film is eyeing a $65 million opening and averaging 82 percent on Rotten Tomatoes (though many reviews are rather tempered in their praise).
For those on the fence, Disclosure Day is worth seeing in theaters because Spielberg directs the hell out of every scene. The 79-year-old filmmaker’s warm, artful, clever storytelling fluidity remains unmatched. Just don’t set your expectations too high or compare the film’s third act to, say, Close Encounters (minor spoilers: shuffling USB drives, clips of UFOs shown on TV screens, and Blunt clutching a glowstick are a massive step down from the cinematic awe of the 1977 film’s Devil’s Tower finale).
LOSER: Project Hail Mary Fans: If you’ve been waiting for the year’s biggest non-video game adaptation / non-accused pederast pop star biopic box office hit, Amazon MGM’s Project Hail Mary, to come to streaming … have a seat. The Ryan Gosling blockbuster is coming exclusively to a streaming service you do not have — MGM+, which makes Peacock look like Netflix.
Deadline says a studio insider gave this reason as to why the movie isn’t coming to Prime Video: “It’s a horses for courses business decision at the streaming and theatrical studio. Different movies in the Amazon MGM verse go through different greenlight models, i.e. Project Hail Mary went through full windows including PVOD with MGM+ being the pay-one … Those movies that go from theatrical to Prime Video, are greenlit differently, often have their budgets covered by Prime and are monetized under a different model internally.”
Even Gosling’s molecular biologist and Rocky the alien would require months of effort and several wipeboards to understand those sentences. We’re sure they make perfect sense if you work in the industry, are high, and stare at them long enough. We suspect a greedy company just wants people to pay for another streaming service they don’t want.
WINNER: John Lithgow. With all those J.K. Rowling comments in media interviews over the last year, it’s been a rocky stretch of press for HBO’s Harry Potter star. But on Sunday, the 80-year-old became the oldest man ever to win the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for starring in Giant — 53 years after his first Tony win. In addition, costume designer Qween Jean made history as the first openly trans person to win a Tony for Cats: The Jellicle Ball.
LOSER: Spencer Pratt: Karen Bass had terrible approval ratings. Even many Democrats agreed that Pratt’s gripes about L.A leadership were correct (even Jimmy Kimmel agreed!) — and many also agreed Pratt’s solutions were good ideas. Pratt won the only debate despite being a political novice. AI ads supporting Pratt’s campaign were so innovative they made national headlines. And he still didn’t even come in second place. Which either shows how impossible it is for any registered Republican to win in L.A., or shows that — regardless of circumstance — many just refuse to vote for somebody they think is a bit of a douche canoe. Pratt seems to have kept his sense of humor about the loss, breaking his social media silence on Thursday by tweeting: “Are they done counting yet?”
WINNER: Love Island: The first few days of Love Island USA season eight were the biggest launch of any Peacock original ever (yes, more popular than even The Miniature Wife). That’s up 74 percent from last summer’s hit season with the sexy snake wrangler. In case you’re unfamiliar, Love Island is a dating series where contestants gradually get removed from a villa when fans unearth their racist social media posts.
