Sometimes, three’s a crowd. Sometimes, not. Especially when a very desirable female tennis star enjoys making two male tennis players compete for her affection. “Whoever wins, gets my number,” is the credo.   

As a teenager, Tashi Duncan (Zendaya, “Dune”), was once the queen of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) juniors. She won tournaments, was on the verge of big endorsements, and was a media darling. Back then, from a distance, her two biggest admirers were American Tennis Professional (ATP) junior players Art Donaldson (Mike Faist, “West Side Story”) and Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor, “The Crown”). Those two schemed to meet, seduce, and endear themselves to Tashi. What they hadn’t fathomed was that she would smack their emotions around like tennis balls. 

The screenplay by Justin Kuritzkes curiously eschews a linear narrative. Instead, it starts with the older trio in 2019 when roles have switched. Art is a world champ, Tashi is his wife and demanding coach who presses him to beat his opponents (“Decimate that little bitch!”). Patrick, who beat Art unmercifully on court in their younger years, is now washed-up. He’s back competing on the challenger circuit, where tennis players dwell until they earn enough points to get into the main regular tournaments and slams (Australian, French, Wimbledon and U.S.). It’s a crucial time for Art, who’s won the three grand slams but not the impending U.S. Open. Now, his game is rocky and so is his relationship with Tashi. 

Kuritzkes makes the young woman the emotional powerbroker. She snaps her fingers, and both men come running. These days, she bosses and nurtures Art, while Pat is her boy-toy. It’s an intriguing dynamic. Add in that it’s a Black woman dominating the two white guys, and the modern verve in the characters and relationships, and we have a very refreshing film. In fact, watching the romance, jealousy, envy, yearning, and lust play out over 2 hours and 11 minutes (editor Marco Costa, “Bones and All”) is a spectator sport. Tracking the different time periods, mood swings, betrayals, and twists and turns is enough to make your head swivel left to right and right to left—like fans watching at a tennis match. 

Director Luca Guadagnino garnered acclaim for his Oscar-nominated gay, May-December romance “Call Me by Your Name.” His subsequent films “Suspiria,” and “Bones and All” didn’t make a dent, but “Challengers” proves that it was the projects, not his direction. He makes sense out of the jigsaw puzzle script and viewers will never feel lost due to his astute guidance. He masterfully leads the young actors through titillating bedroom scenes, which are frisky and erotic, never dirty. But the film does have an ‘R’ rating, so you might think twice before inviting your great granny or kid to sit next to you at the movie theater. 

Guadagnino magically gets the lead cast to hit and serve the ball like pros. Their flat forehands, topspin backhands, and serves look like the real thing. Great fakery for a tennis movie, and better than that in 2017’s “Battle of the Sexes.” The sleight of hand is so good that hardcore tennis players won’t cringe, except when the actors don’t bend their knees enough and grip the racquet handle too high and not at the base. Guadagnino also gives the three main actors room to play and develop their characters. Their authenticity is helped by the realistic dialogue and conversations that sound like excellent writing, improvisation, or things you’d overhear tennis players say. 

Faist, as Art the man/boy who’s in constant need of reassurance, gets to the heart of his timid character: A cuckhold. O’Connor (“God’s Own Country,” “Peaky Blinders”), a very versatile U.K. actor, drops his British accent and is thoroughly believable as the aggressive, cunning seducer. Zendaya’s beguiling Tashi herds her two admirers like sheep. She’s tall, lean, and has a typical tennis champ’s body akin to that of a Venus Williams or Maria Sharapova. Her cocky, Serena Williams tennis walk, sports star mannerisms, and quick-stepping footwork mimic the real thing. She’s flirtatious, reckless, and caring all at the same time.  

Music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Oscar winners for “The Social Network” and “Soul”) pumps up the volume with EDM and house music. J.W. Anderson’s costumes fit the courts and casual lifestyle. Cinematography by Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (“Call Me by Your Name”) is nimble in exterior shots during tennis matches and sensual in steamy hotel bedroom scenes. 

“Challengers” is a top of the league sports-drama-romance movie. Fans of the genre will enjoy watching the high-energy tennis and the boy-girl-boy love triangle. It’s hard to figure out who will win in the end; that’s the mark of a very competitive match. 

The post ‘Challengers’ is a steamy, cinematic win appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

It’s been a long time since we dubbed green tea as the new black coffee—nowadays, the majority of the city’s best coffee shops and tea houses regularly pour out Japan’s slightly bitter and deliciously nutty matcha. The drink’s popularity has risen so much stateside that May 2 has been officially dubbed National Matcha Day. And to celebrate the caffeinated festivities, premium tea brand Jade Leaf Matcha—the number-one selling matcha brand in the U.S.—will offer up free drinks this Thursday. Not only that, but they’re also introducing a cool new doughnut collab for the occasion. 

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On Thursday, May 2, Jade Leaf Matcha will be partner with one of New York’s favorite doughnut purveyors, Dough Doughnuts, for not one but two matcha-flavored doughnuts using the tea brand’s matcha blend. Available to purchase at all Dough locations from Thursday through Sunday, May 12, the limited-edition flavors include a fluffy, chocolate-frosted doughnut with a delicate matcha cream filling and a matcha-flavored ring topped with a sweet glaze and crunchy pistachios. Dough has been known to frequently bake up fresh new flavors to celebrate the changing seasons, various holidays and fun calendar events, so it’s not a surprise that the bakery chainlet would want to get in on the tea-tinged fete. 

And you can’t have a sweet treat without a little something to wash it all down, so Jade Leaf will also be give out free matcha lattes with any purchase in-store on Thursday, May 2, at any of Dough’s five NYC locations while supplies last. A matcha doughnut and a free matcha latte? Consider it a match-a made in heaven. 

If you want even more ways to celebrate the beverage-focused holiday, there are plenty of matcha-specific spots throughout New York City, including Cha Cha Matcha, Chalait UWS, Matcha Café Maiko, Matchaful and Setsugekka East Village, the latter at which you can experience an entire traditional matcha ceremony like they do in the tea’s native Japan. Cheers to that!

* This article was originally published here

One of the most anticipated events at the Met is their annual Roof Garden Commission, an art series in which the New York institution chooses one artist to use the coveted space as their canvas. 

This year’s commission, which was just unveiled today, sends a playful yet extremely poignant and timely message about children who find themselves in war zones. The exhibition, titled Abetare, is on view through October 27; it’s included with general admission.

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The artist, Petrit Halilaj, was born in war-torn Kosovo in 1986 and had to flee his home during the Yugoslav Wars in 1998. He lived with his family in a refugee camp in Serbia for a year, where he drew pictures of war scenes that he had witnessed back home. The sculptures on the roof were inspired by doodles Halilaj found at the school he attended in Runk, Kosovo before it was demolished in 2010.

“That school was one of the very few architectural landmarks that stood after the war, and I didn’t understand why they were tearing it down,” Halilaj says. He says when he went to the school just before it was demolished, he snuck in with a bunch of kids and saw desks covered with scribbles and sketches that dated all the way back from the 1970s. “I was really surprised to see (sketches) of the liberation army and NATO next to (sketches) of Messi, Ronaldo, Michael Jackson, Coca Cola and…hearts, trees and birds.” Inspired by those drawings, he visited other schools across former Yugoslavian countries and gathered more sketches he would end up using for his Met installation.  

One of the first sculptures that will likely grab your attention as soon as you arrive at the roof is one of a giant smiling spider, “Abetare.” The other sculpture that commands the space towers overhead in the shape of a house, which has attached to it a star, other tiny houses and the phrase “return to kukes,” a reference to the refugee camp where Halilaj and his family were displaced. 

The sculptures are a feat of engineering: Although they’re made of stainless steel and bronze and have to withstand hurricane-force winds, they look quite fragile and like they were sketched on a whim, exactly as a child’s drawing might appear. 

Although it’s easy to be mesmerized by the large entangled sculptures that take center stage, the serendipity in the exhibit lies in the abundant tiny details scattered throughout the roof. It was both heartbreaking and moving to see the innocence in the children’s perspectives, but what I found most impactful was how it illuminated our deep interconnectedness. Some of the sketches might look familiar to many children across the world, including the Universal ‘S’ sign many of us probably had all over our notebooks in middle school. The exhibit also shows how even in the midst of wars organized by adults, children remain playful and curious beings: There’s one particularly cheeky corner where the word “tiddies” is written in chicken scratch. 

When you’re there, make sure to cover every corner of the roof and don’t forget to look up as well. You might find some more playful characters dangling overhead. 

Even if the art is inspired by hardship, the overarching feeling of the exhibit is hope, something that kids seem to have even in the most bleak of circumstances. “We are going through very dark times but one of the things I was excited to see here is to bring scribbles and drawings from kids from different countries together,” Halilaj says. “I dedicate this to all those kids and the brighter future they always know how to bring out.”

* This article was originally published here