By Trey Alessio

CREDIT: HBO

(contains many spoilers)

Every once in awhile a show that comes along that just encapsulates you. It may make you ponder the little intricacies of life or it may tug at your heartstrings. Maybe it’s layered with comedy and drama; maybe the show’s meaning strikes a chord with you. Something about the show is just captivating. Well, “The Night Of” certainly did the trick for me.

I must admit, I was late catching onto the HBO mini-series at first, but I’m glad I decided to watch it. The first episode had me hooked almost instantly. I don’t know if it was the premise, the bleak colors that matched the series’ theme perfectly, the amazing acting or the outstanding writing, but I was enthralled with “The Night Of” from the get-go.

As I said, I was a few weeks behind when the series actually ran on HBO, so I watched “The Night Of” on-demand. I began watching the series with my family, and I remember it buffering one time during the pilot. I was so into the first episode, I screamed, “Come on!” My dad looked at me and said, “Calm down.” But that’s how addicting “The Night Of” was right out of the gates.

“The Night Of” pulls you in by creating an aura of goodness around Nasir Khan (Riz Ahmed). He comes off as an innocent college kid, and then when his night takes an outrageous turn, you’re left to interpret what you believe happened. Nasir’s night went sideways when he took his father’s cab, forgot to turn the “out of service” light on and a good looking woman got into the cab. Instead of telling her he wasn’t on the clock, Nasir asked her where she wanted to go. One thing led to another and Nasir and Andrea Cornish (Sofia Black-D’Elia), the girl he picked up, end up going back to her place to become romantic after a lot of drugs were involved. The very next thing we see is Nasir waking up in the kitchen. He goes back upstairs to tell Andrea goodbye and finds her dead—blood all over the lampshade, walls and bed. Nasir panics and runs away. Once he got back to his father’s cab, Nasir realizes he forgot his keys, so he breaks back into Andrea’s place to grab his keys but not before taking the drugs and the knife.

The mini-series takes many wild turns and continually drops different details to make you think different people may be the culprit. But my favorite part of “The Night Of” is the irony of Nasir in prison. The show portrays him to be a clean, innocent college kid in the beginning, but after he gets to prison for something that I think is fair to say we as the audience probably don’t believe he did, Nasir becomes the quintessential convict. Freddy (Michael Kenneth Williams), a former boxing champ, takes Nasir under his wing and teaches his the art of being a convict. Nasir shaves his head, gets tattoos and begins smoking and smuggling in crack cocaine. This beautiful irony is placed perfectly by the writers of the series. Honestly, this is the type of show that makes me want to become a better writer. I have recently delved into screenwriting and I really enjoy the craft. A series like “The Night Of” makes me want to come up with a show that tests the moral and social outlook on certain areas of life. In my opinion, that’s what makes a show great, and I believe “The Night Of” hit the nail right on the head.

This show also did a great job at showing the full circle. Nasir is the good college kid, goes to prison, becomes a good convict and gets out but not without taking a piece of prison with him as he smokes crack where he and Andrea originally hung out by the bridge in the finale. I also enjoyed how the writers chose not to give us a full flashback in the final episode. In doing so, we were able to interpret what happened on our own. I thought it was a nice touch of ambiguity.

The acting throught the mini-series was simply superb. I thought John Turturro’s role as Jack Stone and Nasir’s first attorney was amazing. I thought the writers portrayed Jack Stone as the perfect “precinct crawler” with the subtle weirdness of the Eczema outbreaks and how he kept the cat from the crime scene even though he was extremely allergic. I just thought he was perfectly quirky. I also loved Michael Kenneth Williams’ role as Freddy. Through his character, I felt like it gave a really good look into what I’m sure many convicts are like in prison. Riz Ahmed also killed his role as Nasir. I’m going to go out on a limb and say he will blow up as a big-time actor in the near future (I guess it’s not such a huge limb because he will be in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” this December). “The Night Of” was just oozing with excellent talent from top to bottom. I even noticed that James Gandolfini was a posthumous executive producer, which made me like the series that much more. I believe Gandolfini was actually set to star in the series before his death in 2013.

I even loved the minor details about “The Night Of” that added to the cinematography of the series. The transitions were on point, the color tones were bleak and ominous and the close ups of random items seemed to fit perfectly.

“The Night Of” was just an amazing piece of work. It’s honestly the best show I’ve seen in quite some time. The plot, the acting, the cinematography, the writing, the pace, everything was on another level. If you don’t have HBO, I recommend that you get it to watch this excellent mini-series. 

CREDIT: HBO

THE DON'S GRADE: A

By Trey Alessio

Sunday, August 21, 2016

• The Associated Press released its first preseason football poll. Here's the top-25.

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Oklahoma
4. Florida State
5. LSU
6. Ohio State
7. Michigan
8. Stanford
9. Tennessee
10. Notre Dame
11. Ole Miss
12. Michigan State
13. TCU
14. Washington
15. Houston
16. UCLA
17. Iowa
18. Georgia
19. Louisville
20. USC
21. Oklahoma State
22. North Carolina
23. Baylor
24. Oregon
25. Florida

• Reports surfaced that Ben Affleck will remake the 1957 classic, "Witness For the Prosecution."
• Jared Leto signed onto join Harrison Ford in the "Blade Runner" sequel.
• John Tuturro will star in a "Big Lebowski" spinoff.
• Zendaya signed onto play a role in the upcoming movie, "Spider-Man: Homecoming." Her role is unclear at this point. 
• The board game, "Clue," is getting anohter movie adaptation. Fox landed the rights, but aside from that, not many other details have emerged. 

Monday, August 22, 2016

• Reports surfaced that Pandora Radio may be entering the music streaming war soon. If so, it will go against Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music, among others. 
• The United States came out on top in the final Olympic medal count. USA finished with 121 medals, including 46 gold, 37 silver and 38 bronze. China finished in second place with 70 medals and Great Britain finished third with 67 medals. 
• Kid Ink revealed the cover art for his upcoming mixtape, "Rocketshipshawty 2."

• B.o.B. announced his next mixtape and revealed the cover art. The mixtape will be called "Art Imitates Reality," and it will arrive August 29.

• Jon Bernthal and Christopher Abbott signed on to star in the upcoming thriller, "Sweet Virginia."
• Relativity Media released the trailer for the upcoming movie, "Kidnap." 

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

• Reports began to surface that Big Boi from Outkast and Killer Mike from Run the Jewels are plotting a joint EP.
• Netflix released the trailer for the second season of Narcos. 

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

• Reports came out that Michael Strahan will develop a football-turned-cop drama series entitled, "Hobbs," for ABC.
• Starz renewed "Survivor's Remorse" for its fourth season. 
• Paramount Pictures released the trailer for the upcoming movie, "Rings."

• Reports came out that The Weeknd and Daft Punk will come out with a collaborative effort in the future.
• The San Diego Chargers pulled their offer to unsigned draft pick Joey Bosa after he rejected their "best offer."

CREDIT: Getty Images

Thursday, August 25, 2016

• Young Thug released his project, "No, My Name Is Jeffery."

• Britney Spears released her album, "Glory."

• Reports surfaced that Rovio is developing a sequel for the "Angry Birds" movie.
• The Weinstein Company released the trailer for the upcoming movie, "Lion."

Friday, August 26, 2016

• Sarah Paulson joined Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway and Rihanna in the upcoming "Oceans 8" movie.
• Isaiah Rashad revealed the cover art and title of his upcoming album. It's entitled "The Sun's Tirade" and it will arrive on September 2. He also released the song, "Park."

Saturday, August 27, 2016

• Hopsin released a video entitled, "False Advertisement."

• De La Soul released a documentary entitled, "We're Still Here (now)."

• Tony Romo broke a bone in his back during a preseason game. He's expected to miss 6-10 weeks. 

CREDIT:  Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

By Trey Alessio

Sunday, August 14, 2016

• USA swimmer Ryan Lochte claimed he and other swimmers were robbed at gunpoint in Rio at the Olympics.
• Usain Bolt became the first in Olympic history to win three consecutive gold medals in the 100-meter. 
• USA gymnast Simone Biles won the gold medal in the individual on vault. That marked her third gold medal of the Rio Olympics. 
• 20th Century Fox released the trailer for the upcoming movie, "Hidden Figures."

Monday, August 15, 2016

• Vince Staples revealed the cover art, tracklist and release date for his upcoming EP, "Prima Donna." The EP is set to drop on August 26.

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

• Danny Brown revealed the tracklist for his upcoming album, "Atrocity Exhibition."

• Paramount Pictures released the official trailer for the upcoming movie, "Arrival."

• Jay 305 dropped a short film entitled, "Inner City Hero."

• Rocky Fresh dropped his new song, "Still Watching."

• Amazon greenlit a "Jack Ryan" series starring John Kransinski.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

• The Game revealed the cover art for his upcoming project, "1992."

• Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly signed on to star in an upcoming "Sherlock Holmes and Watson" comedy.
• It was announced that Martin Scorsese's upcoming film, "The Irishman," is eyeing a 2017 production date with a 2018 release date. Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are attached to the film, and Joe Pesci is rumored to have some kind of role. 
• Logic dropped the music video for "Super Mario World."

• Sylvan LaCue tweeted that "At What Cost" will be an EP. Originally, he announced it would be his next full-length project. 

Thursday, August 18, 2016

• Danny Brown released his new song, "Pneumonia."

• Helen Maroulis upset Japan's 3-time gold medalist Saori Yoshida to become the first American woman to win a gold medal in wrestling
  
• Usain Bolt won the 200-meter at the Rio Olympics.
  
• Mac Miller released the tracklist for his upcoming album, "The Devine Feminine." It's set to drop on September 16.
  
• Frank Ocean released his visual album, "Endless," on Apple Music..

Friday, August 19, 2016

• The NBA chose New Orleans as the location for the 2017 NBA All-Star game.
• Reports surfaced that Ryan Lochte lied about being robbed at gunpoint in Rio to cover up a vandalism crime he and other swimmers committed at a gas station. Here's the statement Lochte released. 

CREDIT: Ryan Lochte/Twitter

• Fetty Wap released his new song, "Different Now."

• Pittsburgh Steelers' running back LeVeon Bell's suspension from four to three games. 

CREDIT: Peter Diana/Post-Gazette

• "Ben Hur," "War Dogs" and "Kubo and the Two Strings" all premiered in theaters. 

Saturday, August 20, 2016

• Frank Ocean released the video for his song, "Nikes."

• Five Notre Dame football players were pulled over arrested after a handgun and marijuana was found in their car. They were pulled over for speeding. 
• Reports surfaced that A Tribe Called Quest may have a new album on the way. L.A. Reid said they recorded the album before Phife Dawg's death in March.
  
• Frank Ocean released his album, "Blonde." It was formerly known as "Boys Don't Cry."

By Trey Alessio

CREDIT: Annie Leibovitz/Vogue

(contains many spoilers)

If you all don’t know by now, I am a hip-hop head, a movie buff and a TV connoisseur, so when I heard about the Netflix series “The Get Down,” I was really excited because it seemed like it’d be right up my alley.

When I heard Nas was going to have his hands on the music and after I saw the trailer, I was on board. August 12th rolled around and I was strapped in for the story of 1970s South Bronx and hip-hop’s humble beginning.

The series centered around two teenagers and their love for music and each other. Ezekiel Figuero (Justice Smith) is a smart, talented kid with a poetic mind who finds his love for the earliest forms of rap music. Mylene Cruz (Herizen F. Guardiola) is a beautiful singer who wants to make it out of the Bronx but must evade the grips of her strict father. Their stories intertwine, but the root of their relationship stems at their love for music.

Ezekiel and his crew, including Shaolin Fantastic (Shameik Moore), Ra-Ra Kipling (Skylan Brooks), Boo-Boo Kipling (TJ Brown Jr.) and Dizzee Kipling (Jaden Smith), set out to be the best DJ crew in the Five Burroughs. Through “The Get Down” crew, we learn the art of disc jockeying and where hip-hop got its start. Mylene and her friends, Yolanda Kipling (Stefanée Martin) and Regina (Shyrley Rodriguez) all scheme to get Mylene discovered by anyone in the music industry. Through Mylene and her friends and Mylene’s uncle, Francisco Cruz (Jimmy Smits) we learn the ins and outs of how the music business works.

“The Get Down” had a massive amount of potential, but I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that it fell flat in some areas. There were a lot of good things and a lot of bad things with this Netflix original series.

CREDIT: Netflix

Honestly, I couldn’t tell whether “The Get Down” wanted to be a Disney show or a Netflix show. At times, it was all over the place. One minute we were led to think it was a fun musical and the other club cronies were doing lines of cocaine and shooting street gangsters. It just seemed like the tone was confusing at times.

Aside from the tone discrepancy, there were times where the show was very cheesy. For example, when Shaolin kept addressing Grandmaster Flash (Mamoudou Athie) as “Grandmaster,” I didn’t know whether to laugh or face-palm myself. And why did they make him out to be some kind of ninja? I also thought the dialogue was a little goofy at certain points.

But don’t get me wrong, “The Get Down” wasn’t all bad. It actually had a lot of really good elements. I loved the color schemes and the vibrancy embedded within every scene. It made for a really nice 70s vibe, which was a very cool piece of cinematography.

I also really enjoyed the whole musical aspect of the show from Nas to the original numbers performed by the characters. Once we established the show wasn’t an actual musical, the music added another layer to the series. I thought it was really cool how they incorporated in church music and how DJs and upcoming rappers used it, and I thought it was fun to see how poetry was transformed into rap music. It really did seem like the writers and producers did their research with coming up on how to portray what actually went down in the music industry at that time.

Another element I really enjoyed was the historical aspect of the series. I thought it was interesting how they intertwined the New York City blackout of 1977, “Star Wars,” the graffiti epidemic, the Ed Koch mayor campaign and many others.

I also can’t help but think “The Get Down” may have gotten some inspiration from the recently cancelled HBO series, “Vinyl.” The shows share many of the same elements—one is hip-hop, the other is rock ‘n roll. “Vinyl” also had a lot of historical aspects embedded within it just as “The Get Down” did. Both shows also share some of the same cinematography elements from a color scheme standpoint. I think the vibrant color cinematography in “The Get Down” comes from the mind of Baz Luhrmann—one of the creators of the series. Luhrmann was also a writer and director on the very vibrant musical, “Moulin Rouge.” After realizing Luhrmann had his hands on “The Get Down,” it was easy for me to see the similarities and the inspiration.

Overall, “The Get Down” is a fun, vibrant series about the roots of hip-hop and soul music. It had its flaws, but it came together near the end when “The Get Down” crew battled their rival crew and Mylene got her chance on a hit song. I don’t think the series quite lived up to its potential, but I will be tuned in for part two when it arrives on Netflix. 

CREDIT: VS Mag

THE DON'S GRADE: C-

By Trey Alessio

Sunday, August 7, 2016

• Ichiro Suzuki knocked in a triple for his 3000th career hit.

CREDIT: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

• Rae Sremmurd and Lil Jon released the music video for the song, "Set The Roof."

• Michael Phelps won his 19th gold medal as he helped the American 4x100 relay team to victory.

CREDIT: Lee Jin-man/AP

Monday, August 8, 2016

• VH1 announced that Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg will star in an upcoming reality series entitled, "Dinner Party."

CREDIT: Piotr Sikora/VH1

• Amazon released the trailer for the third season of "Transparent."

• Ron Howard and Brian Grazer are in negotiations about doing a "Curious George" live-action film.
• Hulu inked a deal with Yahoo to provide free, ad-supported episodes of TV series. It will be a strictly an all-subscription based service. 
• Team USA women's beach volleyball won its match, and Kerri Walsh Jennings remained undefeated in Olympic play. She improved to 23-0 with only one set dropped. 

CREDIT: Sportscenter/Twitter

• Team USA men's basketball improved to 2-0 in Rio by defeating Venezuela, 113-69.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

• Adam Schefter reported that Tim Tebow will be pursuing a career in the MLB. Tebow will workout for numerous teams later in the month. 
• Netflix and Marvel released the official trailer for the upcoming series, "Luke Cage."

• A24 released the trailer for the upcoming movie, "The Sea of Trees."

• It was announced that "The Simpsons" will air an hour-long hip-hop special entitled, "The Great Phasby" during its next season
  
• TCU and Gary Patterson agreed to a contract extension through 2022.
  
• Jay IDK dropped his new song, "I Picture.". 

• Sony Pictures released the teaser trailer for "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter."

• Paramount Pictures released the teaser for the upcoming movie, "Arrival."

• Michael Phelps won another gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly. He also won a gold medal in with the 4x200 relay team. 

CREDIT: ESPN/Twitter

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

• Anne Hathaway, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kaling and Awkwafina all signed on to star in an all-female "Oceans Eleven" spinoff. 
• ESPN broadcaster John Saunders passed away at the age of 61.

CREDIT: ESPN

• CBS renewed its reality show, "Big Brother" for two more seasons as well as its series, "Zoo" for a third season. 
• Nike and Chance the Rapper released a new video for Team USA.

• Isaiah Rashad released the music video for his new song, "Free Lunch." The video also confirmed that his album will be released on September 2.

• Jonah Hill told The Hollywood Reporter that the announced "23 Jumpstreet/Men In Black" crossover movie probably won't happen.
• FX announced the second season of "American Crime Story" will feature the story about Hurricane Katrina and George W. Bush. The first season covered the O.J. Simpson trial. 

Thursday, August 11, 2016

• Shazam may have revealed the cover art for Danny Brown's upcoming album, "Atrocity Exhibition."

• A24 released the trailer for the upcoming movie, "Moonlight."

• TBS greenlit a new series entitled, "Drop the Mic" featuring James Cordon and Ben Winston.
• The NBA released the schedule for the 2016-2017 season. Click here for the full TV schedule. 
• Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers agreed to a three-year, $100 million contract. 
• Michael Phelps won another gold medal in the 200-meter IM, bringing his total to 22.
• 2 Chainz announced on Twitter that he has been working on a cartoon mini-series surrounding themes from his latest mixtape, "Daniel Son; Necklace Don."
• IFC Films released the trailer for the upcoming movie, "Complete Unknown."

• Star Wars released the trailer for "Rogue One."

• Simon Biles and Aly Raisman took gold and silver, respectively, in the Individual All-Around event in the Olympics. 

CREDIT: NBC Olympics/AP Photo

• Simone Manuel won the gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle. She became the first African-American woman to win a medal in an individual swimming event. 

CREDIT: EPA

Friday, August 12, 2016

• Nickelodeon announced its plans for a "Rocko's Modern Life" TV movie. The TV movie will feature characters from "Rugrats," "Aaahh! Real Monsters" and "Ren & Stimpy." 

• Screenshots surfaced that suggested that Apple reps said Frank Ocean's album, "Boy's Don't Cry," should arrive within 24-72 hours. 

CREDIT: Pigeons & Planes

• Travis Scott announced the new release date for his upcoming album, "Birds In the Trap Sing McKnight", will be arrive on August 26.
• Paramount Pictures released the trailer for "Allied."

• Reports began to surface that Donald Glover may be casted as the young Lando Calrissian in the upcoming Han Solo movie. 
• Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross beat Italy in the round of 16 for women's beach volleyball.
• It was announced that "Bad Boys 3" got a new title. The film will now be called, "Bad Boys For Life," and it will come out on January 12, 2018.
• "Pete's Dragon" and "Sausage Party" premiered in theaters. 
• The Game released his new song, "Sauce."

Saturday, August 13, 2016

• Wale announced that he has a song called "Runningback" with Lil Wayne. He said he's waiting for the right time to drop it. 
• Michael Phelps won his 23rd gold medal as he helped the 4x100 medley relay team to victory. 

CREDIT: AP Photo

By Trey Alessio

CREDIT: TNT

(this contains many spoilers)

When I first saw the trailer for TNT’s “Animal Kingdom,” I was really excited about the series. Anything about organized crime always peaks my interest, so on June 14, I was locked in to check out what this new series was all about.

The first season of “Animal Kingdom” had some good things and some bad things. The series is about a very corrupt family that delves into the life of organized crime. It’s led by Smurf (Ellen Barkin), a tough yet good-looking older lady who’s accompanied by her adopted son, Baz (Scott Speedman) and the rest of her real sons, Andrew “Pope” Cody (Shawn Hatosy), Craig Cody (Ben Robson) and Deran Cody (Jake Weary). Each character has something weird and/or mysterious about him. Pope gets out of prison and gives off this weird vibe like he might be the real father of Baz’ little girl, Lena, Craig is a borderline junkie and Deran is secretly gay among this motley crew of macho wannabe gangsters. It’s all tied together when Smurf’s grandson, Josh “J” Cody (Finn Cole) moves in with the family after his mom/Pope’s twin sister overdoses on heroin in the first episode. These aren’t normal heist men or thugs or gangsters. They sort of give off a white trash and maybe even an incestuous vibe. The potential for this show was there, but, unfortunately, it fell flat on a few things.

First of all, I think “Animal Kingdom” was trying so hard to be an HBO or Netflix show but was constricted by the TV-MA stamp of network TV. I felt like the show tried so hard to show as much nudity and as many sex scenes as possible but couldn’t go all the way because it was on TNT instead of HBO, Netflix, Starz, Showtime, etc. I felt the same way about the dialogue at times. The conversations seemed held back because of the network TV restrictions. I just felt like “Animal Kingdom” kept trying to push the envelope but never truly got to the point where it realized its full potential.

Don’t get me wrong, I thought the first season was very entertaining. It had multiple twists and plotline shifts, but at the same time, I felt like that might have been a double-edged sword with “Animal Kingdom.” At certain points, the show seemed all over the place. One minute we’re reeled into think Deran’s sexuality will be important down the line and the next minute that plotline is dumped and we’re led to believe Craig stealing money from his overdosed girlfriend will have a big significance. While it was entertaining, it also seemed a little overdramatized.

There were also some plotlines that I thought were a little unrealistic. For example, a paintball course in the middle of a military base—I’m not super familiar with military bases, but I might have to call BS on that one. Also, there weren’t any cameras on the military base? I’m pretty sure if Building 15 held the kind of money the Cody’s were trying to steal, they’d probably have cameras surveying the place. The Cody’s are also supposed to be big-time, but at one point, they were doing low-level heists, such as stealing coins out of arcade games. I thought they could’ve shown a more articulate way of them executing heists.

I also thought they could’ve done a better job with Smurf. Up until the last episode when she shoots the man who may or may not have killed her mom during a heist from back in the day, Smurf wasn’t all that much of a bada**. Honestly, throughout the entire season I kept thinking to myself, “Why don’t the boys just turn on her and do their own jobs?” I know Smurf is manipulative and she’s the boy’s mom, but come on. I wanted more corruption out of Smurf. I wanted more evilness. I also would’ve enjoyed a few more flashbacks to delve into the mind and the background of Smurf. I even thought the boys could’ve been tougher, too. At certain times, they seemed to just give in to Smurf’s demands. I thought they could’ve been a little more corrupt as well.

However, the first season of “Animal Kingdom” wasn’t all bad. I really enjoyed Finn Cole’s performance as J. I think he has the potential to be a star in the future. (You heard it here first.) J was levelheaded, smart and just the right amount of corrupt. I’ll be excited to see his role grow in the second season. Another thing I enjoyed was the writer’s choice to have Pope kill Baz’ wife, Catherine. During that episode, I thought to myself, “If he let’s her go, all hope might be lost for this show.” But my interest for the show lived on. I think this might go back to the whole network TV restriction. With Pope killing Cat, it gave the series some much-needed guts.

Overall, “Animal Kingdom” was entertaining. It had its fair share of flaws, but it left room to grow in season two. It definitely wasn’t my favorite series, but it also wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever seen. I will still be tuned into the second season next year.

TNT renewed “Animal Kingdom” for a second season on July 6. During the season one finale, TNT announced season two will be back in 2017. 

CREDIT: Deadline Hollywood

THE DON'S GRADE: C-

By Trey Alessio

Sunday, July 31, 2016

• It was announced that Nick Jonas is in talks to join Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Kevin Hart and Jack Black in the Sony reboot of "Jumanji." The movie is set to hit theaters on July 28, 2017.

• YG released the music video for his song, "Word Is Bond," from the album, "Still Brazy."

• Lil Uzi Vert dropped his mixtape, "The Perfect Luv Tape."

• Noname dropped her mixtape, "Telefone."

Monday, August 1, 2016

• An Apple Music live stream appeared on Frank Ocean's website. It was rumored that he would dropping an album entitled, "Boys Don't Cry," in July due to a mysterious library card with the words "July 2016." The live stream included a man sawing wood and creating what looked like speakers. Click here for the link to the live stream via Apple Music.

• Reggie Bush signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills. 
• The Texas Rangers traded pitchers Dillon Tate, Erik Swanson and Nick Green to the New York Yankees for outfielder Carlos Beltran.
• The Cincinnati Reds traded Jay Bruce to the New York Mets for minor-league second baseman Dilson Herrera and minor-league pitcher Max Wotell.
• Jason Goldwatch, someone who has worked on music with Jay Electronica in the past, posted this picture on Instagram. Rumors started to circulate about it possibly being the release date for Jay Electronica's upcoming album, "Act II."

• It was announced that Channing Tatum and Jillian Bell will star in the remake of the movie, "Splash."
• The New York Times reported that Frank Ocean would be dropping his album, "Boys Don't Cry," on Friday, August 5. Click here for the link to the article. 
• Warner Bros. released a new trailer for the upcoming movie, "Storks."

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

• It was announced that Mel Gibson and Sean Penn will star in the upcoming movie, "The Professor and the Madman."
• Kanye West and Drake hinted at a joint project during OVO Fest in Toronto, Canada. 
• Mac Miller released the music video for "Dang!"

• The Baltimore Ravens waived running back Trent Richardson.
• It was announced that "The Secret Life of Pets" sequel will be released in 2018.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

• It was announced that the "Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them" sequel will be released in 2018.
• During "Late Night with Stephen Colbert," Will Smith revealed that he had spoken with President Barrack Obama about playing him in an upcoming movie.

CREDIT: CBS

• Tom Jackson announced his plans for retirement from ESPN and broadcasting. He had been at ESPN for 29 years.
• Britney Spears announced her new album, "Glory," will be released on August 26, 2016.

• It was announced that baseball and softball will played in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
• Madden 17 revealed the tracklist for its soundtrack. Click here for the full playlist. 
• The San Francisco 49ers and linebacker Navorro Bowman agreed to a four-year contract extension.
• USA announced its series, "Suits," got renewal for a seventh season. 

CREDIT: USA Networks

• Quarterback Nick Foles signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. 
• Guard Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder reached an agreement in principle for a new three-year deal. 
• Rockie Fresh dropped a new song, "Keep the Peace."

Thursday, August 4, 2016

• Warner Bros. released the teaser for the upcoming movie, "Dunkirk."

• Audio Push announced their debut album, "90951," and revealed the artwork. The album will be released on September 23. Here's the artwork and trailer. 

• It was announced that James Cordon and Rose Byrne will star in the upcoming movie, "Peter Rabbit."
• It was announced that Rebel Wilson will star in the upcoming "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" remake.
• 2 Chainz dropped his mixtape, "Daniel Son; Necklace Don."

• French Montana revealed the tracklist for his upcoming album, "MC4."

• Many were locked into the Frank Ocean's live stream Thursday night with hopes that he would release his new album. Up until midnight, a man, assumed to be Frank Ocean, was working on building what looked like some sort of wooden speaker system. When the clock struck midnight, the camera switched, making everyone who was watching believe something was going to happen or new music would arrive. Instead, nothing happened, and it appeared Frank Ocean trolled everyone awaiting a new album. 

Friday, August 5, 2016

• Rick Ross and Skrillex released the music video for "Purple Lamborghini." It's featured on the "Suicide Squad" soundtrack. 

• PARTYNEXTDOOR released a new song from the upcoming album, "P3."

• The Rio Olympics kicked off with the Opening Ceremonies. 
• "Suicide Squad" and "Nine Lives" premiered in theaters. 

Saturday, August 6, 2016

• Ariana Grande released the remix to "Into You." The song features Mac Miller. 

• TDE head Dangeroo Kipawaa tweeted a mysterious release date. 

• Team USA defeated China in men's basketball at the Rio Olympics, 119-62. After one day of events, USA racked in one gold medal and four silver medals. 

CREDIT: Jason Getz/USA TODAY Sports

By Trey Alessio

CREDIT: Warner Bros./DC

(contains many spoilers)

This is one of very few reviews in favor of “Suicide Squad.” But before you roll your eyes and hit that “x” in the corner of the page, let me back it up.

First of all, “Suicide Squad” is a very entertaining film. It has a very quirky, sarcastic vibe intertwined with epic visual effects and action scenes. And honestly, what else could you really ask for in a superhero movie?

For all the Marvel die-hards: what is one of the biggest reasons you love Marvel movies? I’d be willing to bet that one of the main things you enjoy about the Marvel universe is the humor embedded throughout the drama and the action. Well, “Suicide Squad” is no different. Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) had me cracking up. Deadshot (Will Smith) had me smirking throughout the whole movie with his smart-a** demeanor. Even Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) had little moments of humor.

But aside from the bits of humor, I really did think this was a good movie. “Suicide Squad” scored a 26 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a 41 percent on Metacritic. Why? I really don’t understand all the hate. Now after going back and watching “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” a couple more times, I can understand the bad reviews—plot holes, overdramatic name realization, iffy ending, etc. But what’s wrong with “Suicide Squad?”

I don’t think you can argue that it jumped around too much (another one of the beefs I had with “Batman v. Superman”) because there had to be background information for each character. I actually really liked how they introduced each character. As Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) explained each character and why they needed to assemble this “Suicide Squad,” the film inserted some colorful text for each character and then cut away to get a glimpse into their past. I thought it worked—it wasn’t too messy or too jumpy, in my opinion. I really thought it meshed with the vibe the movie was going for.

I also don’t think you can argue that “Suicide Squad” leaned too heavily on the weird magic that stemmed from Enchantress (Cara Delevingne). I can’t really explain my thought process other than the popular phrase, “It is what it is.” While the magic was quite strange, at the end of the day, it was magic and anything can really happen—and it did as Enchantress made out with troopers and turned them into bubbly-faced black ghost things. But I thought David Ayer and the writing staff did enough to explain everything that was going on during “Suicide Squad.” And before all the die-hard Marvel fans come at me with pitchforks and lit torches, I’d have to remind them that Marvel will enter this weird, trippy realm of magic with the upcoming “Doctor Strange” movie. Things might get messy—and then again, anything could happen and be backed up with the “it’s magic” explanation. But as for “Suicide Squad,” I didn’t really find anything confusing as I did at times during “Batman v. Superman.”

I’d also like to point out how great Will Smith and Margot Robbie were in this movie. It’s safe to say they carried “Suicide Squad.” They both played their characters perfectly, and I’d go as far as to say, I wouldn’t mind if DC broke off and did standalone movies for both Deadshot and Harley Quinn. The Joker (Jared Leto) surprisingly didn’t steal the show, but rather, his ride-or-die, Harley Quinn did. She was funny, she was sexy and she played an integral part in the success of the “Suicide Squad.”

Yes, this movie definitely has its flaws. I wasn’t blown away by Cara Delevingne’s performance as Enchantress. I didn’t really buy into her evilness toward the end, and, if I’m going to nit-pick, it kind of seemed like they didn’t perfectly sync the doom-like voice with Delevingne’s. I also don’t think the Joker lived up to his potential, but I also don’t think he was supposed to in this movie. I really enjoyed the different kind of Joker with the purple Lamborghini, the strip clubs, the tattoos, the suits, etc., but I don’t think “Suicide Squad” was his time to shine. Just wait for the Batman standalone movie. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that he and another villain or two will make a significant appearance in the upcoming Ben Affleck-Batman movie.

Another beef I have with this movie is the bad villain among the other good villains. You could argue that Enchantress and her brother weren’t the strongest of bad villains among the star-studded cast of bad (but really good) guys the movie was focused on.

Overall, “Suicide Squad” was very entertaining and a solid movie. Was it deep and dark like “The Dark Knight?” No. But did it get the job done? I think it did. I also thought it was really cool how they intertwined Batman and the Justice League into “Suicide Squad.” The post-credit scene got me really hyped for the future of DC.

DC will live on despite the unnecessarily low-scoring reviews. We still have “Justice League,” “Wonder Woman,” “The Flash,” “Aquaman” and the unconfirmed-but-definitely-in-the-works Batman standalone movie, among others, to look forward to. And for all the strictly pro-Marvel, anti-DC people out there, I leave you with this: until Marvel does a “Thunderbolts” movie, can you really talk smack about Marvel villains over DC’s?

CREDIT: Warner Bros./DC

THE DON'S GRADE: B-