Just as Beyoncé released her latest album without a word of warning (as only Queen Bey can), tongues are wagging after she posted photos of Frenchy's fried chicken to her Facebook album from her recent trip to Houston, causing speculation about her adherence to her new vegan diet.
She presented contradictory evidence on her Instagram account Friday with photos of vegan cupcakes to celebrate the 100th show of her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, indicating that the superstar may be sticking to the 22-day vegan challenge — incited by husband Jay Z — after all.
Beyoncé showed the world that she can do just about whatever she wants when she unexpectedly dropped her new "visual album" late Thursday night.
"I see music. It's more than just what I hear."
The self-titled album — released exclusively on iTunes — is Beyoncé's fifth studio effort and her first album since 2011's "4." The 14-song collection features "Drunk In Love," a collaboration with Jay Z; "Mine," featuring Drake; "Superpower," with Frank Ocean; and "Blue," a song with her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. "XO," which has long been rumored to be a single from a new album, also appears on the track list.
Always one to do it her own way, Beyoncé's new album not only features 14 tracks, but 17 accompanying videos as well.
"I see music," Beyoncé said in a video announcement on her Facebook page. "It's more than just what I hear. When I’m connected to something, I immediately see a visual or a series of images that are tied to a feeling or an emotion, a memory from my childhood, thoughts about life, my dreams or my fantasies.
"And they’re all connected to the music."
After a rousing performance at the Toyota Center on Tuesday night, Beyoncé made sure to hit her favorite Houston spots, including Frenchy's, where she may or may not have eaten their famous fried chicken.
Photo by Rob Hoffman IAm.Beyonce.com
After a rousing performance at the Toyota Center on Tuesday night, Beyoncé made sure to hit her favorite Houston spots, including Frenchy's, where she may or may not have eaten their famous fried chicken.
For a series whose first two films made over $5 billion combined worldwide, Avatar has a curious lack of widespread cultural impact. The films seem to exist in a sort of vacuum, popping up for their run in theaters and then almost as quickly disappearing from the larger movie landscape. The third of five planned movies, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is finally being released three years after its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water.
The new film finds the main duo, human-turned-Na’vi Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his native Na’vi wife, Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña), still living with the water-loving Metkayina clan led by Ronal (Kate Winslet) and Tonowari (Cliff Curtis). While Jake and Neytiri still play a big part, the focus shifts significantly to their two surviving children, Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), as well as two they’ve essentially adopted, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) and Spider (Jack Champion).
Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who lives on in a fabricated Na’vi body, is still looking for revenge on Jake, and he finds help in the form of the Mangkwan Clan (aka the Ash People), led by Varang (Oona Chaplin). Quaritch’s access to human weapons and the Mangkwan’s desire for more power on the moon known as Pandora make them a nice match, and they team up to try to dominate the other tribes.
Aside from the story, the main point of making the films for writer/director James Cameron is showing off his considerable technical filmmaking prowess, and that is on full display right from the start. The characters zoom around both the air and sea on various creatures with which they’ve bonded, providing Cameron and his team with plenty of opportunities to put the audience right there with them. Cameron’s preferred viewing method of 3D makes the experience even more immersive, even if the high frame rate he uses makes some scenes look too realistic for their own good.
The story, as it has been in the first two films, is a mixed bag. Cameron and co-writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver start off well, having Jake, Neytiri, and their kids continue mourning the death of Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) in the previous film. The struggle for power provides an interesting setup, but Cameron and his team seem to drag out the conflict for much too long. This is the longest Avatar film yet, and you really start to feel it in the back half as the filmmakers add on a bunch of unnecessary elements.
Worse than the elongated story, though, is the hackneyed dialogue that Cameron, Jaffa, and Silver have come up with. Almost every main character is forced to spout lines that diminish the importance of the events around them. The writers seemingly couldn’t resist trying to throw in jokes despite them clashing with the tone of the scenes in which they’re said. Combined with the somewhat goofy nature of the Na’vi themselves (not to mention talking whales), the eye-rolling words detract from any excitement or emotion the story builds up.
A pre-movie behind-the-scenes short film shows how the actors act out every scene in performance capture suits, lending an authenticity to their performances. Still, some performers are better than others, with Saldaña, Worthington, and Lang standing out. It’s more than a little weird having Weaver play a 14-year-old girl, but it works relatively well. Those who actually get to show their real faces are collectively fine, but none of them elevate the film overall.
There are undoubtedly some Avatar superfans for which Fire and Ash will move the larger story forward in significant ways. For anyone else, though, the film is a demonstration of both the good and bad sides of Cameron. As he’s proven for 40 years, his visuals are (almost) beyond reproach, but the lack of a story that sticks with you long after you’ve left the theater keeps the film from being truly memorable.
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Avatar: Fire and Ash opens in theaters on December 19.
