Viraldice

Saturday Night Live returned last night, with the very first episode of 2021. The cold open featured Kate McKinnon, as herself, asking the question that’s plagued all our minds for a year now: what still works? Kate then interviews several characters as she dissects their respective failings. First, there’s Cecily Strong playing QAnon congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who offers Kate a handgun from her purse. After going through Taylor Greene’s laundry list of hideous beliefs and behavior, McKinnon surmises that “government doesn’t work.”

She moves on to interview Pete Davidson, who played a man who made millions off of GameStop stocks, leading her to remark that the stock market also doesn’t work. This was followed by social media not working, with Mikey Day and Alex Moffat as Twitter’s Jack Dorsey and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. Finally, Kenan Thompson rolls through as O.J. Simpson, who recently tweeted video of himself getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

Finally, host John Krasinski comes out as the only thing in America that functions: Tom Brady. And yet despite Brady’s indomitable football skills, most of the country hates him and he’s “a weird Trump guy.” The best part of the skit was clearly McKinnon herself, who cycled through her world weary questions with an all too familiar exhausted disbelief. Yes, everything is bad now. Yes, things are getting better … kind of? Yes, we’re all still unraveling under the overwhelming stress that is simply existing right now.

In the words of another McKinnon creation, Wenowdis. But it’s still nice to see our anxiety reflected with humor and pathos. “I’m “slowly losing my mind along with all of you,” McKinnon intones, before opening the show.

We’re right there with you, Kate.

(image: screencap/NBC)

• Here’s a definitive ranking of the films in the Wrong Turn franchise. (via io9)
• Hailee Steinfeld talks about Emily’s journey in season 2 of Dickinson. (via THR)
• Here’s a look at Studio Ghibli’s upcoming film Earwig and the Witch. (via Collider)
• Tag yourself, I’m “The deep state created COVID in the pantry of a Marxist pizzeria.”

Anderson Cooper trained crows to unionize for the ghost of Hugo Chavez 😂 pic.twitter.com/ccn0f7yuRN

— Mrs. S (@eatteachmama) January 31, 2021

• Grab your popcorn and gird your loins: The Snyder cut is coming in March. (via comicbook.com)
• Here’s everything from the Star Wars Holiday Special that is now canon. (via CBR)
• We’re getting a movie version of the hit Broadway play Dear Evan Hansen this year. (via /Film)
• Pushing Daisies is on HBO Max? We know what we’re doing tonight!

Several years ago I produced a TV series called Pushing Daisies. It only ran for two years, but has collected many fans in the interim. I just learned it’s on HBO Max. Check it out if you’ve never seen it. @BryanFuller @KChenoweth pic.twitter.com/TerH43U0nm

— Dan Jinks (@JinksDan) January 31, 2021

Hope you’re having a restful and restorative Sunday, Sue Believers!

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It wasn't that long ago that we thought Dale Moss and Clare Crawley would be planning their wedding.

Instead?

They're currently plotting... against each other.

To see who can garner the most sympathy from residents and viewers of Bachelor Nation.

In the recent wake of their split, both the former Bachelorette and her chosen suitor have been taking to social media in order to express their downright sadness over the development.

Crawley just wrote about the dark place in which she's been stuck for the past several days.

Moss said he's been praying after taking a mental health break.

And now Dale is back with a new Instagram Live video that features the former football player crying and opening way, way up to his many followers.

“I talk so much with family and friends about everything that’s gone on.

"This situation with Clare, it’s f–king sucked, you know,” Dale says in the footage, which depicts him sitting by the ocean.

“And I think everyone looks for a right answer, a right way to handle these things, someone for guidance and there really f—king isn’t one.”

Dale went on to say he's “feeling shaken right now," continuing by taking a broader view of life and the situation at hand.

“This has been a learning experience for me, as someone who’s had to provide for everybody all the time, for friends, family, and if I was hurting, not even having an option to stop and just having to keep going for everyone else.

"And trying to move forward each and every day.”

It's around this point in the video that Dale wipes away tearrs.

He gets really emotional, you guys.

"This has f–king rocked me. I felt so many emotions, so much guilt, but also so much confusion, so much hurt, and I know that we both have.

"And looking for so many answers before this even happened on how to make things better.

'But the reality of it is, life isn’t perfect. And we make mistakes. I’ve made a lot of them, I know we all do.

"My pops would always say you gotta hurt before you heal. I’ve been f–king hurting. A lot.”

Moss proposed to Clare on an episode of The Bachelorette, despite only knowing her for a few weeks.

The engaged duo then spoke to many magazines and outlets, insisting their love was real and looking ahead to a future as husband and wife; father and mother.

Then, two months later, Moss broke up with Crawley.

He has since denied rumors that he cheated on Clare with a New York-based real estate agent.

The ex-athlete, who confirmed his split from the Bachelorette star on January 19, recalled praying for his life to change a little over three years ago.

“I remember it clear as day, like praying, just with so much stuff that happened in life, with family and having to keep going,” he said.

“I got so numb, just f–king cold and numb to feeling where nothing would phase me, and I remember sitting and praying like, I just want to feel again, I want to fight again, I’m tired of going through things, you know, being alone.

"And then, you always have these ideas for how things are supposed to go, what you’ll stand for, what you’ll put up with, what you want out of a relationship, what you want out of love.

"And when you really fall that s–t goes out the f–king window.”

Dale was far from done, too:

“The smallest thing can cut you the deepest, and I think about this year, just with everything that’s gone on … so many people trying to keep their head above water in so many ways and act like everything’s OK, but f–k, we all go through it and I think the biggest thing is knowing that’s OK.

"And you can’t do everything, you can’t be everything for everybody."

Moss went Live one day after Crawley shared her own video and confessed she’s been “struggling” with anxiety amid the breakup, “trying really hard to come back” from the “dark place” she’d been in.

Dale said he didn’t know why he chose to do the Live apart from wanting to “be honest” and to “just let you know this is real.”

And, you know, to compete against Clare for the title of Saddest Story Telller..

It's hard not to think that, you know?

“The things people go through is real," Dale went on.

"Understanding and what I’ve learned in this situation. Even if you feel low, it does get better.

"Also just thinking about a lot about what I’ve wanted out of life. What I used to want and how things have changed so much this year.

"I just feel f–king wrecked and I thought the things that would make me feel better, the things I thought would make me feel better ended up making me feel worse.”

Moss also appeared to address all that cheating speculation:

“I don’t have all the answers.

"I know there’s a lot of things circulating and people will say whatever. I do know that we had …

"There’s a lot more good out there than bad and I know that I’ve experienced that and I’m working through this situation the best way that I can.”

Did he sleep around behind Clare's back?

“I’m man enough to understand and realize mistakes and things that I’ve done," he said.

"[I’m] trying to put pride aside, pray more and just try to make the best decisions moving forward, so it takes time. All this s–t takes time. And I see a lot of people saying, ‘God’s got you, follow your heart.’

"Everyone’s going to tell you what you should and shouldn’t do. And in a lot of situations, you’re going to look for answers and direction and there’s no f—king way to find one.

"I think at the end of the day, it’s about doing what makes you happy and nothing in life is permanent.”

Moss concluded his more than 11-minute-long video by thanking fans who’ve “sent so much love and support, not only to myself also to Clare.”

“I know she has been f–king going through it,” he said.

“And whatever the case, I know that we will figure this out together, whatever it is.”

View Slideshow: The Bachelorette Stars: Ranked By Relationship Length!

How many times have we complained about Teen Mom cast members being racist?

Way too many, right?

Let's see ... Jenelle Evans has had her fair share of scandals involving racism, including the one involving those alleged leaked Facebook messages in which she called then-boyfriend Kieffer Delp the N-word.

Taylor Selfridge, Cory Wharton's girlfriend, was straight up fired from Teen Mom OG for some racist tweets.

Jeremy Calvert has said some mighty questionable things -- remember that weird rant about Mexico?

Kailyn Lowry actually quit Twitter for a while last year when fans of the show started calling for her to be fired after they remembered that scene where she yelled at Jo for dressing Isaac "like a thug" because he's "half-white."

And now, Mackenzie McKee is facing heavy criticism after a certain statement she made on Facebook last week.

It all started when she shared a post bashing Kamala Harris, because of course it did.

A friend of hers left a comment agreeing with the post, and Mackenzie replied to the comment with "It blows my mind that out of all the amazing colored women in this world, that is the one who is making history."

Yep, that's good ol' Mac using the phrase "colored women" in 2021.

To some, this didn't come as much of a surprise -- after all, she did reportedly call Native Americans "lazy" and "welfare-dependent" on a podcast a few years ago.

But whether or not you expected it from her, you can surely recognize that this is not OK.

And judging by some new posts she's made on social media, she recognizes it, too.

"Growth is being called out and learning from my mistake, even if I meant no harm verses [sic] making excuses for myself and justifying it," she wrote on Twitter.

"I'm thankful for being called out so I can learn, grow, do and be better."

"Those articles are so far off of who I am," she continued. "And my sincere apology is owed to anyone I hurt because that is not who i am or my intentions."

On top of that, she's been sending out private messages to people she thinks have been "affected and hurt by my poor choice of words and sad lack of education on not knowing how wrong I was."

The messages all seem to be the same -- a Teen Mom gossip page on Instagram shared a screenshot of one.

"I have no justification of what I said other than I was simply fearful of using 'black' and I thought colored and women of color was the same," she explained in her message.

"I am so sad that I hurt people," she wrote. "Racism is not who I am or what I represent and her color was not the point I wanted to make."

"But I won't make excuses for myself other than just admitting I was wrong."

She finished up with "If you choose to have no respect for me from here on it was well deserved. But truly in my heart I am sorry, I was wrong."

The reaction to her apology seems mixed -- some people are saying that she seems sincere, others are saying that it doesn't really matter because she should have known better in the first place.

It does seem like all the backlash is getting to Mackenzie though, because she's gone and pulled a Kailyn and deleted her entire Twitter account.

We doubt she'll face any real consequences for this, and we'll be shocked if MTV fires her like many Teen Mom fans are demanding.

What do you think needs to happen next?

View Slideshow: Mackenzie McKee: I Went OFF on My Cousin When I Found Out She Was Banging My Husband!

View Slideshow: Teen Mom OG Season 9 Preview: Who's Pregnant? Who's Getting Divorced? Who's Battling Covid?

Will straight men ever stop owning themselves on the internet? From publicly admitting their lack of sexual prowess to forcing bean-based survival lessons on their children to melting down over their awesome girlfriends, these men can’t help but make asses of themselves online.

The results are alternately hilarious and horrifying, as we the public simultaneously mock these dudes and pity the women and children in their lives. The latest entry into the “straight men are not okay” inventory comes courtesy of Quillette editor Jonathan Kay, who realized that he’s been washing his hair with dog shampoo for several months:

so it turns out I've been using dog shampoo on my hair for the last few months. (I only discovered it when I ran out and needed to get more.) this is partly my own fault but it doesnt help that @ArmandHammer has the word "pets" in like 4-pt typeface. I'm guessing this is common pic.twitter.com/SHEaDrEW7J

— Jonathan Kay (@jonkay) January 31, 2021

Kay criticized the smaller type on the bottle that reads “for pets”, but Twitter users quickly called him out for ignoring the PICTURE OF A DOG squarely on the bottle. Kay doubled down with this stunning leap of logic, tweeting “Lots of shampoos i used in the past have pictures of waterfalls, or people cleaning dishes, or gauzily drawn women frolicking in pastures, or dudes under waterfalls with chests provocatively projected outwards, or whatever.”

"but Jon, is has a pic of a dog!"
doesn't mean anything. Lots of shampoos i used in the past have pictures of waterfalls, or people cleaning dishes, or gauzily drawn women frolicking in pastures, or dudes under waterfalls with chests provocatively projected outwards, or whatever

— Jonathan Kay (@jonkay) January 31, 2021

Oof magoof, where do I start? First off, if you’re using soap that features “people cleaning dishes” then congratulations, you’re shampooing your hair with Dawn. Second, I don’t know what shampoo Kay has been buying, but I have never and I mean NEVER seen a shampoo bottle that featured a bare-chested dude under a waterfall. Because if that shampoo existed, I would be using, AM I RIGHT LADIES? (I am not and would never).

Also, I’m baffled by the logistics of this. If you walk into any supermarket or drugstore, shampoo and conditioner is in its own section nowhere near pet supplies (where pet shampoo is shelved). You would have to go out of your way to grab dog shampoo thinking its human shampoo.

Now, an average Joe tweeting this mistake would be subject to jokes and mockery. But Jonathan Kay is no average Joe. The Quillette editor previously railed against “Identity-politics fundamentalists”, which led to him resigning as the editor of The Walrus.

Oh, another straight white man who feels censored by the centering of marginalized voices and mourns the death of “free speech” on an international platform?

Given his insufferable background, people were quick to dunk on Kay:

Jonathan Kay also surprised to discover that like his shampoo; the delicious lamb stew he's been eating for months at dinner is also for dogs. #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/hrnwXlTDVV

— John Smith (son of Harry Leslie Smith) (@Harryslaststand) January 31, 2021

I have reactivated for a few hours just to remind you this individual who has admitted to using dog shampoo by mistake once said I would eventually be cancelled for accidentally using the wrong pronouns for someone & then he, and he alone, would be my friend. Have a blessed day. https://t.co/NTyac63rZs

— Irulan, Princess Royal, Bene Gesserit-trained (@Nicole_Cliffe) January 31, 2021

yeah before this i was buying a shampoo that just had a picture of a leprechaun eating cereal on the front of the bottle. the bottle was also a box which i didn't really get but they wouldn't put it on the shelf at CVS if it wasn't shampoo

— matt (@Lubchansky) January 31, 2021

May all your haters accidentally use dog shampoo pic.twitter.com/sEcpJer8Sl

— Aaron Reynolds (@aaronreynolds) January 31, 2021

I'm a little disappointed in all those arguing a bottle of dog shampoo would have a dog on it. This is precisely the kind of conventional thinking the heterodox voices at Quillette have dedicated themselves to challenging. https://t.co/DaALEk3Wd5

— Osita Nwanevu (@OsitaNwanevu) January 31, 2021

the minds at Quilette once again exploring dangerous ideas, like why there’s a picture of a dog on this shampoo that’s clearly for humans pic.twitter.com/NHawSh6xxW

— ska scholar (@CTWritePretty) January 31, 2021

People making fun of @jonkay today for using dog shampoo when they could be flaming him for his casual racism, or his Proud Boys-enabling support of Andy Ngo, or his anti-femism, or his untruthful runs at @ddale8, or his screeds against wokeness, or his use of dog shampoo

— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) January 31, 2021

Looking forward to the inevitable think-piece from Kay on how getting mocked online is weaponized cancel culture.

(featured image: screencap)

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If you were to make a list of childhood dream careers, archeologist would no doubt rank highly, alongside astronaut and star athlete. And it’s easy to see why: nothing is more thrilling than the promise of discovery, the idea that the next great buried treasure could be a shovelful of dirt away. It’s a sentiment that’s made films like the Indiana Jones series both iconic and irresistible. But there is also a sad beauty to archeology, which offers us a window into our past while reminding us of our fleeting mortality. We can’t help but wonder what future archeologists will find of us, what stories they will imagine based on the things that outlast our existence.

These themes are explored in the winsome drama The Dig, which follows the unearthing of one of the greatest archeological finds in English history, Sutton Hoo. In Suffolk, England in 1938, wealthy widow Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan, in a complete 180 from her Promising Young Woman role) hires working class excavator Basil Brown (Ralph Feinnes) to dig up large burial mounds on her property.

As Brown uncovers an undisturbed ship burial and its accompanying treasures, fellow archeologists and upper crust experts arrive from the British Museum, intent on taking over the historic discovery. There is also an inquest into who can actually lay claim to the artifacts, Edith or the government. But that class war drama takes a backseat to the central story, which is the relationship between the fragile Edith and the taciturn Basil.

Based on the 2007 novel by John Preston (inspired by true events), the film seems headed towards a romance between the two, but thankfully pivots to a story of friendship (a welcome development for people turned off by the 23 year age difference between the leads). As Edith struggles with health issues, Basil becomes a father figure to her precocious son Robert (Archie Barnes). The two adults develop a friendship based on mutual respect, intellectual curiosity, and an implicit trust that they share. It’s the kind of relationship that we don’t get nearly enough of in film and television, a platonic bond between members of the opposite sex. Plus, it gives us Basil’s sweetly supportive relationship with his wife May (Monica Dolan).

As more archeologists descend onto the dig, we meet Edith’s handsome cousin Rory (Emma.‘s Johnny Flynn) and unhappily married archeologist couple Stuart (Ben Chaplin) and Peggy Piggott (Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again‘s Lily James). Their interpersonal relationships unfold as, all around them, Britain prepares for war. As they dig through the lost treasures of the Anglo-Saxon artifacts, they are continually confronted by the very real history they are living through, as RAF planes soar overhead and Rory receives orders to join up.

The film, written by Harlots creator Moira Buffini and directed by Simon Stone (The Daughter), showcases the rolling hills of Suffolk and the idyllic quiet of the English countryside. It is beautifully shot, lending a quiet lyricism to the film. These characters cannot stop the passage of time, but they can capture and unearth stolen moments together as time marches steadily forward.

Not a lot happens in The Dig,but that’s hardly the point. With beautiful visuals and terrific performances, the film evokes a simpler yet moving style of movie that wouldn’t be out of place in the Merchant Ivory catalogue. If you love a British period piece with a dash of history, you won’t find a better, more finely crafted film.

(featured image: LARRY HORRICKS/NETFLIX)

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SPOILER ALERT: This post discusses the events of episode 4 of WandaVision.

This week’s episode of WandaVision was thrilling from start to finish, as viewers finally got a look at the world outside of Westview. “We Interrupt This Program” not only gives us an up-close look at the chaotic horror from the Blip (still hate that name), but it also explores the government’s response to the static energy field surrounding the town. For those of you who were frustrated by WandaVision‘s slow narrative rollout, episode 4 was packed with exciting new developments.

Chief among these developments was the introduction of S.W.O.R.D., the Sentient Weapon Observation and Response Division. We got a hint of S.W.O.R.D.’s existence in a post-credits scene in Spider-Man: Far From Home, where Nick Fury and a team of Skrulls operate out of a space station/space ship that resembles a S.W.O.R.D. base. Meanwhile, Skrulls Talos and Soren are filling in for Fury and Maria Hill on Earth.

Essentially, S.W.O.R.D. is the space-based companion agency to S.H.I.E.L.D. The agency was created by Maria Rambeau, with her daughter Monica working as one of their top agents. S.W.O.R.D. sets up a base around the town, where FBI agent Jimmy Woo and astrophysics expert Dr. Darcy Lewis (whose last MCU appearance was 2013’s Thor: The Dark World) work to discover what exactly is going on in Westview.

Fans immediately responded to the breezy chemistry between Jimmy and Darcy, with many expressing their desire for a spinoff starring the duo.

#DarcyLewis and #JimmyWoo are the new iconic MCU duo pic.twitter.com/d0MLNr4jeN

— David ⚡️ (@itisdaviid) January 29, 2021

The addition of #DarcyLewis and #JimmyWoo was one of the best things #wandaVision pic.twitter.com/CADB3c0i0t

— DavidAle (@DavidAl69472736) January 29, 2021

And while no one would be mad about a Jimmy/Darcy spinoff series, folks online were quick to remind viewers that Marvel already made a series about wise-cracking agents traveling the world and solving superpowered mysteries. That show, of course, is Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

AoS, which ran for seven seasons on ABC, wrapped its run last August. The first MCU series was led by fan favorite character Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), who leads a team of scientists, soldiers, and powered people to take on Hydra, the Inhumans, aliens, and various other world threats. Several episodes of AoS intersect with the events of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while still maintaining focus on the world of the series.

If you, like me, can't stop watching ep 4 of #WandaVision BOY OH BOY DO I HAVE A SHOW FOR YOU. It's called Agents of SHIELD and it's on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/qpIjQHDwvB

— Jamie Jirak (@JamieCinematics) January 31, 2021

So many people are saying they want an MCU show like Wandavision Episode 4 or The X-Files, but we got that. It was called #AgentsofSHIELD and it was top tier television.

Absolutely in the top 3 of MCU things.

— Bryce Cross (@_BryceCross) January 31, 2021

This week on WandaVision, we invent Agents of SHIELD again.

— Randy Meeks (@imrandymeeks) January 31, 2021

Twitter user @CrazyGirlVids even edited a fan-cut of Jimmy and Darcy watching AoS episode scenes, specifically the film noir and 1970s episodes:

WANDAVISION SPOILERS!

Woo, it’s clearly a noir not a sitcom… anyway couldn’t resist a crossover #WandaVison #AgentsofSHIELD pic.twitter.com/x7nIG3SWxX

— Sarie (@CrazyGirlVids) January 29, 2021

*Wandavision 1×04 Spoilers*

Darcy is still watching the #AgentsofSHIELD's escapades through time! Now hanging out in the 70s… #WandaVision https://t.co/m1LOX7OWbw pic.twitter.com/DcCU8JFWgn

— Sarie (@CrazyGirlVids) January 30, 2021

While I enjoyed AoS, I felt that it was often creatively hampered by the network television medium. After all, network TV has to appeal to a mass audience, which means that more creative, whimsical, or mature storylines are often jettisoned in favor of more procedural elements. Quite simply, you could never do a series like WandaVision on ABC. I’d love to see some AoS/WandaVision crossover in the future, but I think what the world truly wants is Darcy Lewis and Jimmy Woo solving mysteries one plate of chips at a time.

If you’ve never seen Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or just ended up dropping off, then good news. All 7 seasons are currently streaming on Netflix.

(featured image: ABC)

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Kelly Dodd would the world to know that she still has a job.

For now, at least.

No matter how many awful things she has said and/or done over the past several months.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member fired back on Saturday against speculation that she had been fired by Bravo executives, blaming former costar Vicki Gunvalson for starting the rumors in the first place.

“No I am not fired !!! Contacts [sic] haven’t come out yet ! Vicki stop being a hater,” Dodd Tweeted over the weekend.

We're assuming Kelly meant to use the word contracts in this message, not contacts.

But, even more important, here's the thing...

...  KELLY DODD IS THE ONE WHO STARTED THE RUMORS THAT KELLY DODD HAD BEEN FIRED!

Following a year in which she constantly mocked the coronavirus pandemic, often refused to wear a mask and came across as extremely racist on numerous occasions, Dodd said the following to Bustle last week:

"My castmates talk at me, they talk about me, but they never talk to me. I take accountability for everything I have done. I've admitted to some really hard things.

"But now knowing the truth and what people are saying, I give up. I am waving the white flag.

"I can't keep doing this."

So... Dodd quit?

Not quite.

In a series of Instagram exchanges with followers recently, though, Dodd said on more than one occasion that she was gonna get fired because she's an inevitable victim of "cancel culture."

Dodd, as you may know, has been an outspoken supporter of infamous insurrection inciter Donald Trump.

“I’m fired assured because of my beliefs look at [Thomas Kelly‘s] Instagram.

"He’s my producer and claims [Braunwyn Windham-Burke],” Kelly added in another confusing message a few days ago.

To be clear, once again, Dodd has not been fired.

But, also to be clear, Dodd is the one who consistently pushed this narrative alll week, not Vicki.

On Saturday night, meanwhile, Dodd, her husband and some friends dined outside in Newport Beach at an establishment called Billy's at the Beach.

At one point in a video she shared on social media, Kelly raises a glasses and laughs up a storm when someone at a table offers up a cheers to the "super spreaders."

And, in case you somehow needed to ask?

No. Dodd was not wearing a mask.

The self-centered, entitled and bigoted reality star has said often over the past month that she simply can't film future seasons of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills with... pretty much anyone.

"I don’t think Vicki fits into the group,” Dodd told Hollywood Life onJanuary 21, adding;

"She just doesn’t.

"At least Tamra [Judge] is pretty to look at. She’s got a good body, she’s got a good husband, she’s a go-getter at things and she’s fun.”

Elsewhere, during an Instagram Live chat, she said the following:

“I know I cannot film with Braunwyn.

"I know for a fact that I cannot film with her. There's just no way and if she comes back then I'm out because I know for a fact that I cannot.

"She's dangerous and calling people racists and homophobic.”

To be clear, she doesn't just go around calling people racist and homophobic.

She's calls you racist and homophobic, Kelly.

Because you are both of those things.

Otto Bell’s new documentary The Toxic Pigs of Fukushima is a half-hour immersion into the scarred, forgotten world left behind by the 2011 earthquake, nuclear disaster and mass evacuation in Japan. The film doesn’t settle on one thesis or narrative strand, but it does prod uncomfortably at how quickly human beings can forget about the implications of a devastating disaster – an unnerving reminder at a time when the world faces a second deadly wave of coronavirus.

Bell – the filmmaker behind 2016’s The Eagle Huntress – collects snapshots of a few residents who stayed behind in the fallout zone and are living very changed lives in a deserted town. The half-life of radioactivity has now made it possible for more people to return but the invisible toxicity still lingers in the landscape.

The Japanese government’s push for resettlement includes enlisting local hunters to dispose of radiated wild boars roaming the empty streets and buildings. One of the film’s vignettes follows a hunter named Goru-San as he snares and shoots the toxic pigs that cannot be eaten. In other fragments, residents describe absent children, robbed ancestral homes, isolation and cancer diagnoses.

Bell tells LWLies that he “very deliberately left it to be an impressionistic thought-provoking almost frustrating film by not closing the stories or giving all the answers.” He aims to incite people to think, to ask and to engage in this place, which feels glanced over and forgotten. The residents’ testimonies come as untethered voices rather than talking heads. Their tales echo over shots of broken traffic lights, animal bones, overgrown gravestones and dilapidated buildings.

Ambient artist Midori Takada’s original score also haunts over the entire film, creating an effect that Bell describes as “dysphonic and slightly jarring.” The director also nods to Yasujirō Ozu by using tatami and pillow shots to capture the deserted town. This includes the camera sweeping an empty classroom, still littered with music sheets as if frozen at the very moment the population upped and left. It all works together to create a ghostly portrait of a town that’s empty of people but full of unheard voices.

Of these residents, Bell says: “Here are the people who are forced to make sacrifices every day that have been somewhat forgotten. They are facing this horrendous situation thanks arguably to a vacuum of leadership and mismanagement above themselves.” The hunter Goru-San, who we constantly return to through the film, encapsulates this plight as he carries out his killing with an undeniable sorrow and solemnity.

The tragedy behind the boar cull is only reinforced by previous glimpses of adorable little piglets running after their mothers in rice paddies. At one point, Goru-San says, “Taking the lives of animals is what I’m doing.” His journey particularly drives home the extent of the collateral damage still being cleared up nine years later.

Bell never pulls one single strain of commentary into focus but he leaves us with a brutal and unforgettable parting shot. The Fukushima power plant finally comes into the frame as another hunter explains how wild boars never forget danger once they encounter it, a trait that appears to be missing in most of mankind’s leadership. “Only humans are ever foolish enough to make the same mistakes over and over again,” he says. “Only humans are stupid.”

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Clare Crawley has spoken out for the second time after her stunning and sad split from Dale Moss.

And, once again, the former Bachelorette has plastered her heart all over her sleeve for everyone to see.

Gotta give her credit for such candor, you know?

During an Instagram Live late Friday, Crawley said that she has been privately "struggling" for a while, particularly with anxiety.

However, now she's ready to be more vulnerable with her fans.

Explained Clare:

"I think when you open yourself up to share what you're going through, not as a victim, but as like, vulnerability, and more as just like the human side of you, with your friends, with your family, with the public, with people, as much as you want to share... mine more so happens to be a lot more public than most people.

"But I think when we share our struggles, it gives people the opportunity to relate to it, and to share their struggles."

Crawley, of course, was adament from the outset of her run as The Bachelorette that she had fallen for Moss.

He then proposed on air. Crawley said yes. She spent the next several weeks swearing their love was real.

And then Moss dumped her.

Ouch to the infinity degree.

Crawley went on to thank fans who have shared their own stories with her, encouraging folks to open up to those in their orbit.

"The ones that love you support you," she said.

Sadly, not everyone loves and/or supports Clare.

At one point, she said "you guys would be disgusted at" the messages she's received.

Combined these attacks with the COVID-19 pandemic and a mother who is battling Alzheimer's and dementia and, well, times have been rough for Crawley.

But things are maybe looking up for the reality star.

"I'm getting to the point now where I'm trying really hard to come back from that and make a U-turn because it's a dark place to be in when you've got a lot of stuff compiled on each other," she said.

Clare added that despite going through a challenging time, she's trying to practice gratitude by "listing 10 things before I even opened my eyes in the morning that I'm grateful for."

Such as?

"My idea of love and to be loved is to have all of our that we go through, all the stuff that we experienced in life, whether it's whatever you want to call it, like baggage, experiences, traumas, whatever we go through, whatever we carry with us, show up with it," she said.

"And to know ...

"... in spite of all that, like you are loved and you will be loved by the right person for all that you bring to the table, whether it's the good, the bad, everything that we bring to the table, the right person is going to love you for that."

Pretty sage words, no?

Crawley did not address rumors here that Moss may have cheated on her.

Dale has denied these claims and recently came out himself to say he's been praying amid some mental health problems.

Clare never cited her ex-fiance by name, however, or really referenced him in any way at all.

Throughout the 16-minute chat, the Bachelor in Paradise alum teared up, at one point saying, "I didn't mean to cry."

"There's been days where it's hard searching for gratitude," she said.

"You just want to curl into a ball and cry sometimes and not get out of bed, which has been some days for me for sure.

"But the days that I practice gratitude, I get out of bed."

Last week, Moss announced that he and Crawley had broken up.

"I wanted share with you all that Clare and I have decided to go our separate ways.

"We appreciate the love and support we've received from so many people, but this is the healthiest decision for both of us at this time," he said in a statement on Instagram.

"We strongly believe in leading with love and always remaining true to oneself - something our families have taught and instilled in us throughout our lives.

"We only hope the best things for one another.

View Slideshow: The Bachelorette Stars: Ranked By Relationship Length!

Despite the limits of filming during COVID-19, season 4 of Star Trek: Discovery is already well underway. Star Trek: Discovery co-showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise, along with star Sonequa Martin-Green, participated in a virtual panel for Deadline, where they teased the upcoming season.

Kurtzman said, “We’re actually exploring – we’re diving deep in to science – in the fourth season, in a kind of new and interesting way,” adding that “There have been many kinds of villains over the course of Star Trek. What happens when the villain is not actually any kind of living, breathing entity, but something else? How do you solve that problem?”

It’s unclear if the villain will be based in science, or something more abstract that threatens the crew. Kurtzman also delved into the 32nd-century Federation, and the struggle of rebuilding. “The Federation is coming back together but it’s not fully back together. And so the continued mission of bringing other worlds in and meeting the criteria and standards of what it means to be a member of the Federation but also not to rob other cultures of their identity is something that we’ll explore,” he said.

Kurtzman also addressed Burnham’s journey, and her growth in the upcoming season, saying “Burnham has spent a lot of time thinking she had to be one thing or the other and ended the season being rewarded with the captain’s chair for being two different things. Vance basically says, ‘You don’t have to pick. You do things your way and that’s why I want you in the chair. Because you’re always ultimately fighting for what’s right.’ Burnham is going to have to keep figuring that out. She’s going to have to keep learning what that means. Her relationship with Book will be tested in many ways, for reasons that I won’t tell you.”

Have you finished S3 of Discovery? What do you hope to see happen in S4?

(via TrekMovie.com, image: CBS All Access)

• Cloverfield is finally getting a direct sequel. (via io9)
• There’s a Han Solo Easter egg in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. (via CBR)
• Is Marvel’s next Big Bad lurking behind the scenes in WandaVision? (via THR)
• Protect Captain Janeway at all costs:

We will beat this, but only if we all work together. Stay safe, my friends, and trust in science! 🖖🏻🍀 (2/2)

— Kate Mulgrew (@TheKateMulgrew) January 25, 2021

• Is it time to revisit Avengers: Age of Ultron? (via Collider)
• Gillian Anderson wishes The Crown star Olivia Colman a happy birthday:

Happy birthday Queenie 🎂 pic.twitter.com/TK4BsWLVdJ

— Gillian Anderson (@GillianA) January 30, 2021

• Happy Ahsoka Tano Day! Watch Rosario Dawson transform into a Jedi:

Happy #AhsokaTanoDay ! Thank you @Ashley_Eckstein for bringing Ashoka to life for us all. It’s one of the greatest honors & privileges of my life to share this remarkable character w/ the world alongside you. #DreamTeam @starwars @dave_filoni @Jon_Favreau #BrianSipe #SamanthaWard pic.twitter.com/9JThoyrm6q

— Rosario Dawson (@rosariodawson) January 30, 2021

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