Epic battle movies

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 14 For a not small segment of the audience for “Minions: Rise of Gru,” only one thing really needs to be said. The Minions are in it. That's enough. Now five films and 12 years into the “Despicable Me” series, the appeal of the bug-eyed, overalls-wearing, banana-yellow henchmen horde is overwhelming apparent. They have swarmed the planet like that human mob in “World War Z," spreading a happy cartoon plague that long ago became endemic. The Minions are one of the great second-banana success stories. And the franchise's latest installment, “Minions: Rise of Gru,” is smart enough not to reinvent the wheel — even if trying to do so might sound like the kind of job the Minions would love to get a crack at. The outline of the film is a sequel to 2015 “Minions” and “Despicable Me” prequel for Gru (Steve Carell), who here is an … [Read more...] about Review: In ‘Rise of Gru,’ Minion mayhem reigns

Netflix is looking to Asia after its shock first-quarter slowdown, seeking to both maintain growth in the one region where it's still adding subscribers and replicate its success there in other parts of the world. Despite plans to curb overall spending, investment in Asia will keep growing, including financing for the production of local films and series, Tony Zameczkowski, vice president of business development for Asia Pacific, said in an interview. While Netflix will continue to offer low-price, mobile-only membership across Asia, it's also seeking more partnerships with wireless operators and digital payment companies to reach more potential customers in a region where credit card use is less common, he said. The company's Asia strategy is informing moves in other emerging markets, where the platform must also grow to balance out saturation in North America and Europe. "Asia is a great proxy for other markets in the world," said Zameczkowski. "There are similarities between … [Read more...] about Netflix’s plan to fix its subscription crisis starts in Asia

On a sweltering afternoon in Dallas, Kelly Neidert stood alone on a busy corner near the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She waved a handwritten sign reading "Dr. Lopez is transitioning little kids" as drivers passed, her eyes shielded from the summer sun by colorful 80s-style shades. Neidert's sign took aim at Dr. Ximena Lopez’s work as the leader of UT Southwestern’s Genecis Clinic, which focuses on gender-affirming medical care, offering mental health services and hormone treatments for transgender youth. The clinic won praise from UT Southwestern when it opened in 2015 and Lopez participated in a host of interviews to discuss her team’s work with trans youth . However, in recent years, UT Southwestern began to shift away from publicly lauding the clinic and eventually moved to shut it down last November, suggesting “Media attention and political and scientific controversy, as well as UT Southwestern’s status as a state agency, were considered in the months … [Read more...] about Anti-transgender activist Kelly Neidert’s group is expanding into Houston, she says

If the appeal of the Minions - those banana-yellow, gibberish-spouting rascals first seen in 2010's "Despicable Me" - is wearing thin, give "Minions: The Rise of Gru" credit: After the over-the-top 2015 prequel "Minions," their second spinoff seems to recognize that less is more. Having appeared in four movies, numerous short films and a Universal Studios ride, among myriad other media, the subservient scamps return to playing second fiddle in "The Rise of Gru." By shifting the spotlight to the antihero Gru, who was the focus of the three "Despicable Me" films, this installment at least attempts to combat Minions oversaturation. Packing their shtick into a speedy 87 minutes, returning director Kyle Balda delivers a perfectly painless romp that should enthrall kids, entertain adults and keep Minion cosplayers employed for many a birthday party to come. After the endearingly innocent henchmen spent the first spinoff as nomads in search of a suitable supervillain to serve, we catch … [Read more...] about Minions happily take a back seat in the ’70s-inspired ‘Rise of Gru’

Daniel Ricciardo will become the latest Formula 1 driver to get behind the camera when he lends his thoughts to an upcoming Hulu series. With the success of Netflix’ Drive to Survive, it is no surprise to see other media companies are getting in on the act. Earlier this month, details emerged of an Apple TV movie starring Brad Pitt that Lewis Hamilton will produce and has a reported budget of up to $140million – the same as for a Formula 1 team under the 2022 cost cap. Apple have also acquired the rights to a documentary based on the seven-time World Champion. Another driver looking to get in on the act is McLaren’s Ricciardo who has joined up with ABC Signature, Temple Hill and Lionsgate TV to create a series for Hulu. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Hulu are creating a Formula 1 scripted series that the McLaren driver will serve as an executive producer on. The exact content of the half-hour show series is still being kept under wraps but writers are reportedly … [Read more...] about Ricciardo to exec produce new Disney-backed F1 TV series

Twenty years ago today, in the middle of one of the most frantic final laps a Formula One race has ever seen, a cool-headed Michael Schumacher found the time to help out his little brother. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free He did it while winning the race for himself, inflicting another surprising defeat on Williams and Jacques Villeneuve . 1997 French Grand Prix qualifying Two weeks on from his humiliating defeat at home, Villeneuve arrived in France trailing Schumacher in the championship. But the home race for engine builder Renault, who had won the last two races on the French track, promised to be a strong venue for Williams. His weekend got off to a troubled start, however. Villeneuve crashed ahead of qualifying, meaning he had to begin the session in his spare car. He eventually switched to his regular race chassis but was held up by Mika Hakkinen spun at the Lycee chicane. “We just stuck it on the car and I honestly don’t know how much … [Read more...] about Inspired Schumacher takes ’11-point win’ at Magny-Cours · RaceFans

A bizarre incident involving an ambulance almost cost a NASCAR driver a shot at the championship. Also last weekend two prominent F1 juniors enjoy successful weekends in their series and the DTM title battle closed up again. NASCAR Cup Race 26: Richmond Matt Kenseth was one of the 16 drivers to qualify for NASCAR’s title-deciding play-offs despite retiring from Saturday’s 300-mile race at Richmond after a strange incident involving an ambulance. The safety vehicle’s driver failed to stop when instructed during a caution period which forced several drivers to take avoiding action. They included Kenseth, who ran into the back of Clint Bowyer. Championship leader Martin Truex Jnr described the incident as “inexcusable”. Truex lost a healthy lead when another caution period was called with four laps to go in the race. He was then beaten out of the pits by Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin delivered the coup de grace by sticking Truex into the wall. Nonetheless Truex … [Read more...] about Weekend Racing Wrap: Ambulance disrupts NASCAR race – F1 Fanatic

Listen to this article Amid ongoing debate among grand prix racing’s chiefs about how best to address problems triggered by rising inflation and the cost of living crisis, teams are reluctant to keep spending on upgrades until they know there is no risk of them potentially being in breach of the spending rules. With McLaren having already admitted that it is on course to break the current $140 million cost cap limit , it is more mindful about the risk of further over-spend until it knows what F1 is doing to address the problems teams face. And that is why team principal Andreas Seidl has revealed that McLaren has stopped for now work on any more major developments to its MCL-36. “Hopefully it is not just us who had to pull the handbrake in terms of further developments, due to the restrictions we're having mainly from the cost cap side,” explained Seidl, speaking about the work on improving the team’s current challenger. “But there are also the restrictions you have … [Read more...] about McLaren: Budget cap uncertainty has put handbrake on F1 upgrades

Listen to this article The two Acura ARX-05s entered by Wayne Taylor Racing and Meyer Shank Racing were untouchable out front in the third Michelin Endurance Cup event on the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship calendar, scoring a comprehensive 1-2 victory for the Honda-owned brand. Bourdais and teammate Renger van der Zande finished third in the best of the five Cadillac entries, the #01 Ganassi DPi-V.R, but were never in a position to upset the Acuras in a race punctuated by several caution periods and a long red flag due to thunderstorms. Acura has now won four of the seven races in the DPi class so far, moving to the top of the manufacturers’ standings, while WTR and MSR lock out the top two spots in the teams’ championship. Bourdais said being the top Cadillac at Watkins Glen was little consolation, as he had no chance to mix up with the leading two Acuras given the pace difference between the two cars at the 3.4-mile road course. "We were trimmed out, but … [Read more...] about Bourdais ‘frustrated’ Cadillac no match for Acura at The Glen