How ‘Ted Lasso’ Failed Nate as a Character

Ted Lasso has taken our pop culture by storm. From its trademark humor to the soccer (AKA football) matches, to the great performances, and an often stunning exploration of mental health (at least for most of its main cast), it’s a show that inspires through showcasing the difficulties that the members of Richmond Football Club endure, and how they ultimately uplift each other through it all.

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Steve McQueen Highlights Necessary Histories with New Documentaries

Director Steve McQueen’s newest Prime Video documentaries on West Indian and Caribbean life in 20th century London are necessary viewing. In a style similar to Ava DuVernay’s 13th, the Academy Award-winning director stitches together archival footage and thoughtful interviews that spotlight the violent history of some of London’s most vulnerable communities. Subnormal: A British Scandal, Black Power: A British Story of Resistance, and Uprising document the racially motivated atrocities that plagued black and brown neighborhoods across London in the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, and captures the delicate maneuverings of McQueen’s cinematic eye.

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Academy Award-Winning Director Steve McQueen’s New Documentaries

The masterful work of Academy Award winning director Steve McQueen spans an impressive set of genres, from films to anthology series, and now the 12 Years a Slave director has three new documentaries coming to Amazon Prime. Last year, we spoke to the talented leads in McQueen’s anthology Small Axe that examined the real-life experiences of West Indians living in mid-20th century London.

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New Red-Band Trailer for ‘The King’s Man’

Whoo! This December is looking to be one for the records folks! In addition to the extraordinary-looking Spider-Man: No Way Home, WB announced a new Matrix film for the holidays as well, entitled The Matrix Resurrections. However, not to be outdone, 20th Century Studios is also releasing a minor bazooka of its own — the long delayed The King’s Man!

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New Special Look at ‘The King’s Man’ Debuts

Ever wonder about how the top-secret British intelligence organization known as Kingsman came to be? This December, wonder no longer! Long before the days of Harry, Eggsy, and Merlin, the world was plagued by the worst evil masterminds and tyrants. And in that chaos, an agency rose to the occasion to stop them all! This is the story of The King’s Man!

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‘Timewasters’ Creator Daniel Lawrence Taylor on His New Series and Time-Traveling While Black

When you think of time-traveling films or television series, the first ones you think of mainly consist of white casts. If someone asked you to name a predominantly black, indigenous or people of color (BIPOC) led time-traveling series, it may take a little bit to come up with one, if any. Thankfully, that’s where IMDbTV’s Timewasters comes in to change the game

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NOC Interview: Faith Omole of ‘We Are Lady Parts’

Nida Manzoor’s We Are Lady Parts, a British series featuring a punk rock band of all Muslim women of color, premiered here in the US on NBC’s Peacock streaming service! It’s a landmark in Muslim representation for so many viewers worldwide, who haven’t been able to see themselves represented on screen like this in such a subversive, yet bold, way like this before.

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British Romantic Comedy Series ‘Starstruck’ Coming to HBO Max

Have you ever had a dream that you met a famous hot actor and instantly become inseparable?

Well, in the new HBO Max series Starstruck, Jessie (played by comedian Rose Matafeo), a millennial living in East London juggling two dead end jobs and navigating the awkward morning-after-the-night-before when she discovers the complications of accidentally sleeping with famous movie star Tom (Nikesh Patel). What she thought would become an amusing anecdote soon turns into something more, as the couple realize they can’t keep away from each other. The ensemble cast also includes Sindhu Vee, Emma Sidi, and Minnie Driver.

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Grab Your Baseball Caps: ‘Attack The Block 2’ is Official

Before he was briefly wielding Luke’s lightsaber, or taking down entire fleets of Stormtroopers, John Boyega was part of a little project called Attack the Block. “Little” of course being a massive understatement. Though it took a minute, Attack the Block became a smash success, developing a cult following thanks to its clever blend of science fiction horror and comedy. That, and its incredible cast that included John Boyega, Jodie Whitaker, and Nick Frost.

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‘The Walking Dead’ Star Lennie James Talks New Show ‘Save Me Too’

Peacock’s new gripping drama series, Save Me Too, premieres today and I had the opportunity to sit down with executive producer and star,  Lennie James (Fear the Walking DeadThe Walking Dead, and Colombiana). The show is the second season of the award-winning thriller Save Me, which is currently streaming on Peacock as well. Lennie created, wrote, and stars in the star-studded British series. The show won the Best Writer for a Drama series and Best Drama Series awards at the 2019 RTS Awards and was nominated for a BAFTA for the Outstanding Drama Series Award.

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Hard NOC Life: Sir Gawain and the Dark Knight

This week on Hard NOC Life, Dominic and Keith continue their discussion of Birds of Prey and share their thoughts on Robert Pattinson as Batman. Later, Friend of the NOC Preeti Chhibber returns to the show to talk about a couple of new Dev Patel movie trailers.

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Dev Patel Slays in ‘The Green Knight’ Trailer

This summer, English majors of the world will be sure to journey to cinemas to see A24’s first foray into medieval fantasy with The Green Knight, David Lowery’s adaptation of the classic Arthurian poem. Check out the first teaser trailer!

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NOC Review: ‘Last Christmas’ Did Not Give Its Heart

Last Christmas really tried.

It really did.

It had the makings of a cute, cheesy Christmas romantic comedy. The film stars Emilia Clarke as a 20-something Londoner who lost her moral way after a life-changing surgery and Henry Golding as the man who helps her find her way back. It had the perfect cheesy formula and all perfectly wrapped during Christmas. The film even had a great supporting cast with Michelle Yeoh and Emma Thompson.

What many were hoping for a story similar to Love Actually (which Thompson also starred in) ended up with an awkward coming-of-age Brexit Christmas story.

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Chasing Dreams and Springsteen with ‘Blinded by the Light’ Star Viveik Kalra and Author Sarfraz Manzoor

Recently, The Nerds of Color was honored to be able to interview some of the cast and filmmakers of Blinded by the Light, an excellent movie about how music can inspire us to chase our dreams and overcome the hardships of growing up. To countdown to the movie’s release on August 16, we are releasing a series of interviews chronicling what the dedicated filmmakers behind the film had to say about culture, music, racism, and dreams. To conclude this series, we had the privilege of sitting down with the film’s star, Viveik Kalra (Javed in the film) and real-life inspiration and journalist, Sarfraz Manzoor, to discuss all things about the film and culture. Here’s what they had to say:

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NOC Review: Oh, I Believe in ‘Yesterday’

The latest from the team that brought you Four Weddings and a FuneralBridget Jones’ Diary, and Love Actually hits theaters this Friday. Will audiences long for Yesterday the same way they swooned for those films? We’re here with the full review!

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NOCs of the Roundtable: Danger Mouse Returns

[UPDATED: Bleeding Cool has the first look at the newly redesigned Danger Mouse and Penfold.]

If you have an affinity for cartoons about a British mouse with an eye-patch who lives in the North Pole and also happens to be a spy in the mold of an Ian Fleming novel, then you’re in luck! It turns out that the BBC is in the process of reimagining Danger Mouse for an all new generation. The network has ordered new episodes of the classic series to air in 2015.

Upon hearing this news, two of the NOC’s biggest Danger Mouse fans — the two Shawns — and Raymond took to the Roundtable to share their feelings about the character’s resurrection.

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