‘Mary Poppins Returns’ Review: Too Many Spoonfuls of Sugar

It’s no surprise that Mary Poppins Returns, an industrial-strength sugarplum, doesn’t 
live up to the 1964 original; how do you replace the immortal Julie Andrews as the London nanny who drops from the clouds to dispense tough love. Luckily, we have Emily Blunt, an actress who makes her own kind of magic in playing the impatient, imperious fixer once described as looking “like Joan Crawford trying to be nice.”

This sequel, efficiently directed by Rob Marshall, is set 25 years after the first film. But it follows the same beats, including a new score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman that sounds like warmed-over Sherman brothers. There are echoes everywhere of what came before — including a lamplighter named Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda), who’ll remind of you of Dick Van Dyke’s chimney sweep Bert, right down to the unapologetically fake Cockney accent. What’s the radical creator of Hamilton doing in this family-friendly escapism? The answer: having a ball. In his big-screen debut, Miranda has charm to spare and throws in a little rap during a number called “A Cover Is Not the Book.”
Set during the “Great Slump” on the 1930s, the film calls Ms.

‘Aquaman’ Review: D.C. Superhero’s Solo Movie Is a Waterlogged Mess

He’s the laughing stock of the DC Comics Extended Universe — and Aquaman’s solo movie almost gets by on razzle dazzle, since that’s all it has up its waterlogged sleeve. Not that this underwater superhero knows much from sleeves: A shirtless but never humorless Jason Momoa plays Arthur Curry, a.k.a. Aquaman, as if he were born to wield a trident. Yes, he looks nothing like the platinum blondie of the comic books. His half brother, King Orm (Patrick Wilson, in for the fun of it), is the one taking on that visage, complete with a dash of Draco Malfoy villainy. “I am the Ocean Master,” says Orm, seriously and hilariously. Ok, then.

But, wait, no jumping ahead. Aquaman is directed by James Wan, the horrormeister behind Saw and The Conjuring who’s showing off his lighter side. He gives the 143-minute film a propulsive drive, which comes in handy when the light dawns that the plot is going nowhere. The movie is an origin story from co-writers David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall, that starts out with a man having sex with a fish. That’s right. A human lighthouse keeper, Thomas (Temuera Morrison), working out of Amnesty Bay, Massachusetts, falls hard for Atlanna, the queen of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, when she washes up on shore. Nicole Kidman, of all overqualified actresses, plays her. And before long the interspecies couple is raising a son, Arthur, until Mom has to go back to sea on family business. As for the kid, he’s left to wonder whether he belongs to the surf or the turf.

Panic in Lagos suburb as vandals cause explosion

Reports reaching us Wednesday morning indicate that there is a raging fire at Ebule Egba in Lagos caused by activities of pipeline vandals.
Residential and commercial houses are reportedly affected. People are scampering to safety.
It was alleged that vandals had caused an explosion from the pipelines, which extended to Abule Egba Bus Stop.

Fire was said to have started 3:30am.

Details later..

Philippines contestant Catriona Gray named Miss UniversePhilippines contestant Catriona Gray named Miss Universe

Catriona Gray of the Philippines was named winner of the Miss Universe 2018 competition in the Thai capital Bangkok, besting contestants from 93 other countries to claim the prize.

The 24-year-old Gray edged out first runner-up Tamaryn Green of South Africa and third-place Sthefany Gutierrez of Venezuela.
Gray succeeds the 2017 winner, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Africa.

Nicki Minaj: 'Let's have a little empathy for Pete Davidson after suicide post'

Nicki Minaj has urged her fans to show more empathy for those suffering mental illnesses after comedian Pete Davidson worried followers with a worrying Instagram post.
Ariana Grande's ex-fiance has often spoken publicly about mental illness, and he offered his support to Kanye West on social media after the rapper discussed his bipolar disorder in a series of posts.
"No one would ever choose to end up in a mental hospital and diagnosed with a mental disorder but god chose me to publicly go through this journey and it is beautiful," the Life of Pablo hitmaker tweeted.
Pete praised the father-of-three for speaking candidly about his mental health struggles, but later shared a disturbing message on Instagram: "I really don't want to be on this earth anymore," he wrote. "I'm doing my best to stay here for you but i actually don't know how much longer i can last."

Frenzy as cash rains down on Hong Kong neighbourhood

A hail of banknotes rained down onto the streets of a working-class neighbourhood in Hong Kong, sending bystanders into a frenzy -- but the man who claimed to be behind the stunt was arrested Sunday.
Bills worth thousands of Hong Kong dollars were seen fluttering to the ground from the top of a building, as people tried to grab the falling cash and others filmed the scene on their smartphones.
A man who runs a cryptocurrency Facebook page live-streamed the prank Saturday in the Sham Shui Po district.

Right wing extremists being referred for deradicalisation programme rises by a third as Islamist suspects falls

The number of people flagged up to the authorities for right-wing extremism has surged to a record high, new figures reveal.

There was a 36% increase in the number of referrals to the Government’s Prevent programme over concerns about right wing extremism. It jumped from fewer than 1,000 in 2016/17 to 1,312 in 2017/18.

The Home Office figures also revealed a sharp rise in the number of children and teenagers being referred to the programme, up by a fifth to 2,009 including 297 girls.

More than half of those reported for possible deradicalisation interventions in 2017/18 were 20 or under.

The rise in right-wing extremism accounted for an overall 20% increase in referrals to Prevent, from 6,093 to 7,318 in 2017/18.

While Islamist concerns accounted for a larger proportion of referrals, the number in the category fell by 14% year-on-year.

“The Rise of Right-Wing Extremism, and How U.S. Law Enforcement Missed It”

Despite repeated warnings over the past two decades, federal law enforcement officials in the United States have ignored the threat of violence from far-right extremists. Now, they have no idea how to stop it.

Roughly 22 million Americans found neo-Nazi or white supremacist views “acceptable,” according to a poll taken after the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017.

White supremacists and other far-right extremists have killed more people in the United States since Sept. 11, 2001, than any other category of domestic extremist — but the country’s counterterrorism strategy has been focused elsewhere. Read Janet Reitman’s article for the New York Times Magazine.

A jury has recommended that the man who drove into a crowd of anti-racism protesters at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., last year spend the rest of his life in prison.

Victoria Beckham, Kendall Jenner, Cindy Crawford, Kaia Gerber and other celebrities at the British Fashion Awards

  

The British Fashion Awards held on Monday night at the Royal Albert Hall.

It was a star-studded event with celebrities like Meghan Markle, Victoria Beckham, Kendall Jenner, Kaia Gerber and more present.

Also present was David Beckham and his son Brooklyn Beckham, Cindy Crawford, her husband Randy Gerber, and their son Presley Gerber were all present to Support Kaia Gerber.

See more photos below.

Stan Lee, Marvel Comics' Real-Life Superhero, Dies at 95

Stan Lee, the Marvel Comics legend who co-created some of its most famous heroes like Spider-Man, Iron Man, and the Fantastic Four, died Monday in Los Angeles at the age of 95. Lee was reportedly rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where he later died, according to 3m360. The cause of death has not been immediately released.

Lee’s legacy is defined by his numerous popular comic book character creations for Marvel Comics, where he began working in 1939 at age 18 when the company was called Timely Comics. The company changed its name to Marvel Comics in 1961 when Lee and artist Jack Kirby co-created the Fantastic Four and saw it go on to become a hit.

Lee’s birth name was “Stanley Martin Lieber,” but used “Stan Lee” as his pen name and then later had it legally changed.

With the success of Marvel’s First Family came more Lee/Kirby creations throughout the 1960s, including Hulk, Thor, Iron Man and the X-Men. Lee co-created Daredevil with Bill Everett, and Doctor Strange and Spider-Man with Steve Ditko. The characters all lived in a shared universe that mirrors our own, with most heroes residing in Lee’s home of New York City. The common factor that proved to be Lee’s key to success was giving superheroes relatable flaws as opposed to making them perfect, infallible beings.                

AFRIFF 2018 Kicks off @GenesisCinemas The Palms Lagos

   
AFRIFF 2018   is a world class showcase that presents a complete immersion into the world of film making with participation from local and international filmmakers and professionals, celebrities, actors, directors, film critics, buyers, distributors, visual artists, film students, amateurs, equipment manufacturers, and international press.
Maintaining its inaugural theme “Africa Unites”, the vision is to raise awareness in Africa about the vast potential the entertainment industry holds and the impact it can generate in the economy. To establish bridges for partnership with international counterparts to ensure quality, expertise and global standards access the local industry, accelerating its sustainable development. AFRIFF also aims to re-establish Africa’s significance as the original birth home of civilization and indeed the last frontier for unique film stories and content development.     

THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER'S WEB

Lisbeth Salander, the cult figure and title character of the acclaimed Millennium book series created by Stieg Larsson, will return to the screen in The Girl in the Spider’s Web, a first-time adaptation of the recent global bestseller. Golden Globe winner Claire Foy, the star of “The Crown,” will play the outcast vigilante defender under the direction of Fede Alvarez, the director of 2016’s breakout thriller Don’t Breathe; the screenplay adaptation is by Jay Basu & Fede Alvarez and Steven Knight. The past never forgets.#ClaireFoy is Lisbeth Salander in #girlinthespidersweb         

Good Health Reasons To Drink Coffee

There are good reasons to drink coffee and there are a few reasons not to. This article is for those that are looking for reasons to keep drinking it.

After all, you may have a caffeine-hater in your life. You know the type – they’re always telling you what’s bad for your health.

Here’s a list of some good reasons to drink coffee. Memorize this list – so the next time you encounter your favorite coffee-hater you can pull out one of these babies.

While you’re at it, you can add the words “from a peer-reviewed scientific journal” — that’ll really get your pet coffee-hater frothing at the mouth.

1. Cut the Pain
   Two cups of coffee can cut post-workout muscle pain by up to 48%. From the Journal of Pain, 

Ralph Breaks The Internet 2 @GenesisCinemas

The first Wreck-It Ralph movie was packed with surprising appearances from many popular characters throughout gaming's biggest franchises. But now that Ralph and Vanellope have made it to the Internet, it seems like there's no limit to who can be included in the sequel.
But that doesn't mean video game characters will be forgotten in Ralph Breaks the Internet, as the new TV spot for the movie reveals. Check it out above and see who all you recognize from your gaming habits. Main characters returning from the first movie include Sergeant Calhoun and Fix-It Felix Jr., and there are a ton of other familiar faces from popular games.

 Here's who all we've spotted so far:
Sonic the Hedgehog Dr. Robotnik, Q*Bert, Pac-Man, Inky and Clyde from Pac-Man, the frog from Frogger, Ryu, Chun-Li, Ken, Zangief and M. Bison from Street Fighter, and probably a ton more that we missed.
Unfortunately, it will not include a cameo from Mario, as Nintendo is likely trying to save his appearance for their own future film.

Five Key Benefits of Probiotics For Men

In order to live the healthiest life possible, it’s vital to listen to advice and do your best to eat a healthy, balanced diet, and incorporate plenty of exercise into your week. Of course, you also need to banish smoking, and do your best to keep alcohol to a minimum, but have you heard about taking a men’s probiotic supplement too?

Probiotics have been in the health news for the last few years at the very least, and show no signs of disappearing. Probiotics are healthy bacteria, ensuring that the bad stuff is balanced up sufficiently, avoiding illness and conditions from developing. Whilst there is ongoing research into just how effective probiotics are, they have been shown to have a plethora of fantastic health benefits, as well as ensuring your gut functions to the best of its ability.

Look at it this way – a healthy gut is a healthy and happy you. There is no joy to be had when your stomach feels bloated and you feel like you’ve swallowed a brick every time you eat something. With the busy and stressful lives most of us lead, there has been a distinct increase in the number of people suffering with stomach-related complaints, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), diverticular disease, inflammatory bowel disease, as well as general bloating and discomfort after food. Probiotics can help all of that, either by taking a supplement, or by increasing the amount of natural probiotic in your diet.