Britt Hayes is a writer, movie lover, and sensible sweater enthusiast living in Austin, Texas. She watches too much TV and never eats her vegetables.
Britt Hayes
SNL Ranked: Louis C.K. Sends Season 40 Out on a Clumsy Note
This season of SNL has had some definite highs and definite lows (I’ve been seriously questioning the writers’ ability to deliver great material for the female hosts), and the last few episodes have only been consistent in their clumsiness. What began as a strong season has faltered in the final lap, but the promise of Louis C.K. hosting the Season 40 finale inspired some optimism thanks to both his comedic talents and his track record with SNL. Sadly, this week’s outing proved to be as so-so as the last few episodes, resulting in a finale that’s merely half-decent.
‘Minions’ Trailer: Travel Through Time With Your Favorite Sidekicks
Giving the little yellow sidekicks from the Despicable Me films was inevitable, but at least Minions looks fun. The new, full trailer for the spinoff has arrived, taking you on a journey back through time to learn the origins of these weird little creatures and following them on their endeavor to find a new villain to serve.
SNL Ranked: Reese Witherspoon Doesn’t Disappoint, But This Episode Sure Does
Reese Witherspoon has had an interesting time lately: the producer of Gone Girl, nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Wild, and the recent star of the not-so-funny Hot Pursuit. But Witherspoon is funny — she’s also immensely charming and versatile (obviously), and she knows how to light up a room. Unfortunately, she’s not really the star of this week’s SNL, suffering from the same fate that befell Scarlett Johansson in last week’s underwhelming episode. Throughout the bulk of the episode, Witherspoon is more like a supporting player than the star, and I’m growing concerned about how terrible these female-hosted episodes have been lately and what that says about SNL in general.
‘Magic Mike XXL’ Trailer: The Boys Are Back, and This Time They’ve Got Puns
The first teaser for Magic Mike XXL was a glorious thing of hilarious beauty, perfectly deploying Ginuwine’s “Pony” and promising that yes, this is a sequel we want to see. Now the first full trailer has landed online, and it is super pun-heavy, but also pretty charming and funny, as the gang returns with a few new additions for a rowdy road trip adventure.
‘Full House’ Unauthorized Movie Coming Soon to Lifetime
On the heels of Netflix’s plan to revive classic sitcom Full House with, uh, Fuller House, comes news that Lifetime would also like to cash-in on your nostalgia with an unauthorized Full House movie. Similar to last year’s underwhelming The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story, the new project will take you behind the scenes of the sitcom to tell you all those sordid stories about Comet the Dog that you’ve been dying to hear.
‘Suicide Squad’ Delivers Our First Look at Jared Leto as a Very Tattooed, Very Insane Joker
Well that didn’t take long. Following David Ayer’s recent teaser image of the character and Jared Leto’s own candid Snapchat pic, the director has officially revealed the first legitimate photo of Leto in character as the Joker in Suicide Squad. He’s very pale, very tattooed and totally insane. And he’s nothing like any Joker you’ve ever seen before.
How ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Abruptly Killed Off an Important Character and Enraged Its Fanbase
Last night, Grey’s Anatomy fans were heartbroken and shocked to discover that one of their favorite, most enduring characters would be killed off in the newest episode — hours before it even aired. Thanks to a mistake made by Entertainment Weekly, the death of Patrick Dempsey’s Dr. Derek Shepherd (aka “McDreamy”) was well-known before audiences had the chance to watch the episode. That should have taken some of the sting out by allowing them to prepare for the tragic, abrupt death of Shepherd, but instead it only served to exacerbate outrage.
‘The Visit’ Trailer: M. Night Shyamalan Returns to Take You to Grandma’s House
After a brief intermission, M. Night Shyamalan is back. In addition to the new Fox series Wayward Pines, the twist-y filmmaker also has a new movie coming out: The Visit. We first heard about the film last year, but other than the casting of Kathryn Hahn, production has remained fairly quiet. With Shyamalan’s latest hitting theaters in just four months, the first trailer has arrived to reveal just what The Visit is all about.
New Netflix Instant Releases: May 2015
It’s time again to ready your queues, as Netflix prepares to add a bunch of new titles to their streaming service. Coming up in May, we’ve got the new original series Between and Grace and Frankie, as well as classic films, new favorites, and acclaimed hits like Inglourious Basterds and Fruitvale Station. Read on for our guide to the new releases hitting Netflix Instant in May.
Marvel’s Phase Two Films All Feature the Same ‘Star Wars’ Easter Egg
Marvel has long included Easter eggs in their films, referencing other superheroes and properties in the MCU throughout its current run with Disney. But there’s another Disney property that’s been acknowledged in the MCU: Star Wars. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige reveals that they’ve used the same Star Wars Easter egg in each and every one of their Phase Two films, although you probably didn’t notice it.
‘Star Wars’ Plane That Looks Like R2-D2 Will Take Off This Fall
Ultimate Star Wars fans, take notice. Pretty soon you’ll be able to board a special Star Wars plane painted to look like R2-D2, perfect for taking flight — though not to a galaxy far, far away, unfortunately. You’ll need to talk to NASA about that. All Nippon Airways is launching the very special plane this fall in honor of the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In case you weren’t aware, Star Wars is kind of a big deal again. It’s pretty much all we talked about on the internet today.
‘Batman vs. Superman’ Trailer Will Arrive Earlier Than Expected
Looks like Zack Snyder is trying to steal some of the spotlight from Disney and Lucasfilm. The director will reportedly reveal the first five seconds of the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer online just an hour before Star Wars Celebration begins on Thursday. Five seconds sounds pretty lame, which is why Snyder is offering fans a chance to see the entire trailer shortly after…in a theater. Sure, why not.
SNL Ranked: Taraji P. Henson Is Great in an Episode That Has No Idea What to Do With Her
Taraji P. Henson is only the eighth black woman to host SNL in 40 years, which is only half the reason why her appearance on the show is awesome — in addition to her killer role as Cookie on Empire, Henson is a versatile actress who’s been impressing us for some time now. That versatility certainly came in handy as this week’s guest host, although the writers never really figured out how to use Henson’s strengths. Read on as we rank this week’s SNL sketches from great to not-so-great.
Google Is Developing an App to Keep You From Seeing Spoilers, You’re Welcome
It’s a familiar scenario for most people: You haven’t watched the latest episode of Game of Thrones or Mad Men, or you’ve yet to make it to the theater to check out the latest movie your friends have all been gushing over. But social media is an irresistible force, so you hop on Twitter or Facebook anyway, and soon find yourself navigating a minefield. At any given moment, you might read a spoiler. Lucky for you, there may soon be an app for that.
‘Twin Peaks’ Revival Loses David Lynch, Series May Still Move Forward Without Him
Well this is not great news. After months of excitement over the prospect of a Twin Peaks revival series with original creator David Lynch, it seems as though negotiations have fallen apart. What was once a promising development that would put Lynch back behind the camera for the first time in years has now become a disappointment, as Lynch has departed the project.
‘Terminator Genisys’ Star Arnold Schwarzenegger Says ‘Terminator 4’ Sucks
Of the four Terminator films previously released, Arnold Schwarzenegger technically only appeared in three. The iconic actor was too busy, you know, being the Governor of California to make an appearance in McG’s Terminator: Salvation, so his face was digitally placed over a Schwarzenegger-esque body instead. With Terminator Genisys hitting theaters soon, Schwarzenegger has been talking about the franchise a lot, and he has some choice words for Salvation.
SNL Ranked: Michael Keaton Gets Wonderfully Weird
Coming off the major acclaim (and major awards buzz) for Birdman, Michael Keaton returns to host SNL for the third time in his long and varied career. Keaton possesses a great deal of comedic sensibility, and his hosting gig this weekend almost seems a bit tardy, given his recent career resurgence. Better late than never. How did Keaton fare back on the SNL stage? Read on for your weekly sketch rankings!
‘Deadpool’ Star Ryan Reynolds Confirms R-Rating in Hilarious April Fools’ Day Video
Just the other day, Ryan Reynolds revealed that he’s been fighting with Fox over the rating for Deadpool, which he (and many other fans) firmly believes should be rated R. That’s been the big Deadpool question this week, and now it appears we have an unequivocal answer thanks to the magic of the April Fools’ holiday and one very special interview with Reynolds himself.
‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2’ Casts ‘Arrow’ Star Stephen Amell as Casey Jones
Production on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 (or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Half Shell, maybe) is gearing up, which means we’re going to start hearing some casting announcements — like this one, which should make geeky fans pretty stoked: Arrow star Stephen Amell has just joined the cast of the upcoming sequel, playing the one and only Casey Jones.
SNL Ranked: Dwayne Johnson Truly Is Franchise Viagra
SNL returns with an all-new episode, bringing Dwayne Johnson back to, uh, rock the stage for the fourth time as guest host. Johnson has charisma almost as big as his formidable biceps, and it’s always a treat to see him flex his comedic muscles. Okay, enough with the brawny puns. Johnson really delivers on his promise in this week’s episode, which is, aside from a couple of hiccups, almost entirely perfect. Read on for your weekly SNL sketch rankings.