Modern Beauty Trends: In: Rachel McAdams’s Return to Comedy

Friday, February 23, 2018

In: Rachel McAdams’s Return to Comedy | Out: Joss Whedon

Kylie Jenner may have doomed Snapchat’s stock price.
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“I love my parents, but they weren’t teaching me about intersectional feminism...I had teenagers on the Internet who were like, ‘This is who Malcolm X was. This is who Angela Davis is.’” —Rowan Blanchard, on how she got so woke.

Natalie Portman and Rachel McAdams’s Latest Films

Body-Jumping Teens

Black Panther is expected to retain its crown at the top of the box office this weekend, but for the millions of people who have already seen it, Hollywood is offering several alternatives: First up is artsy sci-fi film Annihilation, which stars Natalie Portman leading an all-female team of scientists trekking through a mysterious forest populated with bizarre animals. Critics are delighted and a little mystified by the movie throwing around terms like “strange splendor,” “sinister sheen,” and “as gorgeous as it is disturbing.” For something a little lighter, there’s Game Night, which, surprisingly, is the first studio comedy released all year. It stars Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams as a couple who attend a murder mystery party that quickly develops into an actual crime caper. Critics are pretty hot on the film, and especially seem to be fond of McAdams, Ms. Regina George herself, returning to comedy. Every Day is a movie for the teens that hasn’t been screened for critics yet, but has an oddball concept: A 16-year-old girl falls in love with a soul who wakes up in a different body every single day. Don’t worry, one of the caveates is that that other person is also always around 16, but the bodies do run the gamut through race, body type, and gender. Though, it sounds more interesting, to adults at least, as a concept than an actual movie to see.

The Power of Kylie Jenner

Snapchat

Kylie Jenner practically dropped off social media during the last months of her “secret” pregnancy, but the digital queen is back and already causing waves; this time it has nothing to do with Stormi. Snapchat once cited Jenner as the most popular user on its platform, and she expertly used the network to help hawk her beauty company (often with lip gloss swatches on her maid’s arm). While Jenner was away, Snapchat made some changes of its own and recently revealed an unpopular redesign that makes it more confusing for users to find content, and Kylie doesn’t approve. “Sooo does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore? Or is it just me...ugh, this is so sad,” she tweeted Wednesday. On Thursday, Snapchat’s market value dropped an astounding $1.3 billion. It’s hard to say Jenner caused it herself, but even the business press is taking note of the possible correlation. Later in the day, Jenner debuted a new limited-edition makeup line inspired by her daughter, Stormi. She chose Instagram’s Stories feature to spread the news.

Female Directors

Joss Whedon

No one ever seems to know what’s happening with DC’s superhero movies, sometimes not even DC itself. The company, a subsidiary of Warner Brothers, hired Buffy the Vampire Slayer director Joss Whedon to write and direct a Batgirl film last year, and apparently, no one realized they didn’t actually have an idea for a plot until now. "Batgirl is such an exciting project, and Warners/DC [are] such collaborative and supportive partners, that it took me months to realize I really didn't have a story," he said in a statement. Batgirl fans aren’t upset, though. In fact, they’re excited this may open the door for a female director. Heck, writer Roxane Gay has already offered her services as scripter. Fans are already throwing around names like Dee Rees and Kathryn Bigelow as potential helmers. It makes sense, too—the success of Wonder Woman and Black Panther prove that diverse superheroes mixed with diverse directors seem to lead to magical things.

Anok Yai

@AnokYai

Opening a Prada show is considered one of the biggest gigs in the runway world, and Anok Yai got the honor this year. A notable development considering the brand has been dinged for its slow embrace of diversity in seasons past. See backstage photos from Prada and other Milan Fashion Week highlights here.