The MadHouse

The final stop before the Super Bowl features some interesting storylines. In the AFC Championship game, the #1 Baltimore Ravens, are the hosting the conference championship game for the first time in franchise history and are set to take on the defending Super Bowl champions, the #3 Kansas City Chiefs. In the NFC Championship game, the #1 San Francisco 49ers are taking on the red hot #3 Detroit Lions. The 49ers are looking to erase the heartbreak of last year’s defeat while Detroit is looking to make history by reaching the Super Bowl for the very first time.

The road to Wrestlemania begins at the Royal Rumble. The latest WWE premium live event was held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The event featured both the men and women Rumble matches in which one superstar must battle their way through 29 others for a World Championship match at Wrestlemania. In the other matches, the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns put the title on the line against “The Mega Star” LA Knight, “The Phenomenal One” AJ Styles & “The Viper” Randy Orton in a fatal 4 way match. The United States championship is also up for grabs as “The Maverick” Logan Paul takes on Kevin Owens.

This psychological thriller was written, produced and directed by Emerald Fennell and was an original film from the streaming service, Prime Video. The film stars Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosemund Pike & Richard E. Grant. In this film, when a low class student who attending Oxford University, befriends one of the popular students, his admiration of his lifestyle and home become more and more of an obsession that creates an uncomfortable situation for the student’s closest family members. The film hit Prime Video in November of 2023 and has already won 2 Golden Globes for the performances from Keoghan & Pike as well as a “Best Picture” nomination & 5 BAFTA Film Awards.

Round 2 of the NFL playoffs kicks off this past weekend, first, on Saturday, with the #4 Houston Texans battling the #1 Baltimore Ravens and then the #7 Green Bay Packers taking on the #1 San Francisco 49ers. Then Sunday saw the number #4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the #2 Detroit Lions and then the #2 Buffalo Bills hosting the defending Super Bowl champions, the #3 Kansas City Chiefs.

This Netflix original film was directed by F. Gary Grey and stars Kevin Hart, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Billy Magnuessen, Jay Reno & Vincent D’Onofrio. In this film, a group of art thieves are hired by Interpol to steal half a billion dollars worth of gold from an international terrorist organization. Kevin Hart also serves as a producer on the film. It was originally supposed to be released in August of 2023 but due to the SAG-AFTRA strike it was postponed to January 2024.

The first round of the playoffs saw the division winners and the wildcard teams play to keep their seasons alive. In the AFC, the #2 Buffalo Bills took on the #7 Pittsburgh Steelers, the #3 Kansas City Chiefs took on the #6 Miami Dolphins and the #4 Houston Texans took on the #5 Cleveland Browns. Over in the NFC, the #2 Dallas Cowboys hosted the #7 Green Bay Packers, #3 Detroit Lions took on the #6 L.A. Rams and the #4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers took on the #5 Philadelphia Eagles.

This Paramount Plus original film dropped on December 15th, 2023 and stars Ben Foster, Toby Wallace, Jenna Ortega & Tommy Lee Jones. The film was written and directed by Academy Award winner, Brian Helgeland. In this film, 2 half brothers are forced to take a drug deal after their father’s fishing boat is impounded. The deal takes a dark turn after they agree to do it and becomes more a fight for survival.

Alexander Payne directs this dramatic comedy that stars Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa & Da’Vine Joy Randolph. The film is set in 1970 and follows a harsh and uptight history who is left to chaperone a handful of students at a boarding school during their Christmas break. This film hit theaters in late October of 2023 before landing on the streaming service, Peacock, in December. Both Giamatti & Randolph have already won Golden Globes for their performances in the film at this year’s award ceremony. The film was nominated for Best Picture (Drama or Comedy) and has been named one of the Top 10 films of 2023 by the AFI & National Board of Review.

Jim Caviezel stars in this thriller about a US Government agent who goes on a manhunt to find 2 children who were kidnapped and sold in to slavery. This film was written and directed Alejandro Monteverde and hit theaters on July 4, 2023. Due to the subject matter of the film, it had short theatrical run but landed on Prime Video later that year.

Marvel’s newest spin-off series is now available on Disney +.