Author

Julian Cannon

Julian Cannon is a seasoned entertainment editor with a keen eye for capturing the pulse of the industry. With a career spanning over a decade, he has become a trusted voice in the realm of TV, movies, events, conventions, and red carpets. Julian's expertise lies in delivering insightful commentary on the latest trends, exclusive interviews with industry luminaries, and comprehensive coverage of high-profile events. Twitter: @Julianexcalibur Instagram: @Julianexcalibur Contact: Julian.theknockturnal@gmail.com

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Power Book III Raising Kanan Season 2, Episode 6 Review

by Julian Cannon
written by Julian Cannon

This week’s edition of Power Book III: Raising Kanan is the best episode of the season.

It was highlighted with phenomenal acting performances by Mekia Curtus, Patina Miller, Joey Bada$$, and Malcom Mays all added extra layers of flavor in their scenes that moved the plot forward. It was a slow build episode, but the pacing was perfect.

We got our first glimpse into the original Power’s Kanan through the eyes of his younger self. Not only did he get the money back that the thugs stolen from him, he also taught the guy a lesson. I love everything about that scene since it has been a long time coming to see the start of the Kanan that we all know. It is too bad that this lead to Famous getting detained as they were running outside the house. Not even his rap lyrics entertained the prisoners there.

Perhaps the biggest scene in the episode is when Lou-Lou killed Crown. Lou-Lou wanted to make it known that he is in control of Bullet Proof Records and he did that by taking out his biggest threat which was Crown. It makes me wonder if he will do the same with Zisa since he is the only person who saw him do this. Wherever this will lead to, I am intrigued.

With Unique being involved with Raquel’s business, it is a matter of time before this will backfire for Raquel. I also sense that Unique and Worell are plotting against her behind the scenes.

With Raising Kanan taking a two week break, it left us with a cliffhanger that will be addressed when it returns. Awesome episode all around as I believe it is the beginning of Kanan’s rise.

 

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Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 2, Episode 6 Sneak Peak

by Julian Cannon
written by Julian Cannon

STARZ is excited to unveil a sneak peek clip from episode six of “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” season two.

On Sunday, September 18 at midnight, the episode will debut on the STARZ app, all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms, and on the STARZPLAY streaming platform internationally. As for linear television, “The Serpent Queen” will debut on STARZ in the U.S. and Canada at 8:00pm ET/PT, followed by “Raising Kanan” at 9:00pm ET/PT. In “It’s A Business, Man,” Kanan (MeKai Curtis) assumes greater responsibility within his family’s business, but things quickly spiral out of control. In his partnership with Crown (Quincy Brown), Lou (Malcolm Mays) feels the pressure.

Set in the early 1990’s, the third series in the “Power” Universe tells the origin story of fan favorite character, “Kanan Stark,” and follows his coming of age in South Jamaica, Queens.

Raised by a single mother, who ruthlessly runs the family’s emerging criminal empire, Kanan charts out a path through some of the city’s most volatile streets while, at the same time, navigating his way through adolescence, which has its own dangers and pitfalls.

Be sure to catch our review of the episode this Sunday!

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Exclusive: AEW Superstar Thunder Rosa Talks AEW All Out, Her Importance on Community Outreach, and her Injury

by Julian Cannon
written by Julian Cannon

Thunder Rosa has been part of the AEW Roster since 2020 and she has made an impact on the women’s division.

Rosa has had several matches with Britt Baker thorough 2021 into 2022 which became one of the best women’s rivalries in AEW history. Thunder Rosa was set to defend her AEW Women’s Championship during All Out weekend this year. But unfortunately, she had to surrender her championship due to an injury.

But there is more to Thunder Rosa than her wrestling. She is active in her communities and she has a huge reach in the latino demographic. We recently spoke with the AEW Superstar about all of this in our exclusive interview.

The Knockturnal: When did you find out that you were not able to compete at All Out?

TR:”I really can’t pinpoint it, honestly, but I know my back was hurting for a couple weeks. And then the announcement was made on Wednesday (8/29) that I was unable to compete. So because I just literally got the news last week that I was hurt. But it was more serious than that. And I was encouraged to go and do the MRI to make sure to rule out any bad stuff. I did it and I got the news and I was very shocked to announce that I was actually lhurt. So now I’m trying to focus on getting better and it makes me sad because this is the first All Out that I miss.I mean, I’ve been to the last two All Outs and and there’s always been amazing moments and just being in a big show that’s so special because that’s where everything started at with AEW And that was a humongous opportunity. I say sometimes you are an athlete little things can really become big things until you get diagnosed with certain stuff. And I’m really blessed. I know God had me under his wing because I didn’t need to have surgery.”

 

Thunder Rosa AEW

Photo Credit: Julian Cannon

 

The Knockturnal You have a great reach in the Latino demographic. How much does this mean to you?

TR: “It’s very special because I wanted to portray when I became mainstream was me and my culture and how proud I am to be who I am to come where I come from. Other guys and girls that are not Latinos, they feel like a piece of Thunder Rosa that means something to them. For a person to be accepted into a new culture, they have to leave behind things they know and assimilate into that culture. I feel amazing about being able to bring color, flavor, loudness, everything that comes with being a Latina, and getting accepted because for so long, so many different companies weren’t willing to work with me. They wanted something else. And now I’m able to bring that in and just have people saying that they identify with it, it’s super awesome.”

The Knockturnal: With AEW’s roster being very diverse, what are your thoughts on why representation matters?

TR: “It is very important to to show representation and to show that it doesn’t matter where you come from, you can achieve your goals. And that goes into any aspect of life. Let’s say that somebody wants to be an astronaut and then they see a person of color that is an astronaut and they are inspired by the person of color. As they saw someone like them in this world making a difference, this will push them to become a part of that when they grow up.It’s a bit far-fetched, but I’m talking about women who would not have imagined themselves as athletes otherwise. Despite the fact that they are trying something new, they are pushing themselves and they are representing themselves, and that, to me, is so important because after all, no matter what you put in the ring, it’s about how you treat people and how you make them feel outside the ring. That’s what they’re going to remember all the time. It’s very powerful if you are able to inspire someone or influence them to change their mind about things, about perspective, about life.”

 

The Knockturnal: Do you have interests outside of the ring?

TR: “I love singing. I been working on taking classes for singing. Last month, I began taking it on again. Since last month, I’ve been working on a song. My next project is to record it in a studio. Since this is Mexican regional music, which is what I’m mostly working on, I would love to share my culture with others, and the lyrics are very important to me because I’ve had a lot of struggles in my life, such as misunderstanding people and the fact that, no matter what, you have to be positive. I also have someone who coaches me too. So it is really cool that you can find somebody that is super positive too, and is pushing you to to really express yourself in such a different way. So I’m working also on writing some songs, and then we’ll find the music for it, which is like a different level of being an artist. It’s something I’ve never done before. So it’s going to be a very interesting thing, and I’m working on other things as well. I am very active in my community and am very dedicated to helping women, children, and educational groups, but I am also more interested in writing a book. With my brother, I’d like to write a children’s book and discuss different things. Throughout my career, I look forward to being able to share a lot more things I’m excited about.”

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Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 2, Episode 5 Review

by Julian Cannon
written by Julian Cannon

Today is camping day on Raising Kanan and it almost finished with a death.

That is because Kanan and Raq had a brief encounter with the Italian mafia as they stalked the two since they left Queens. There was a slow build as I was wondering the whole time if Raq was going to get pulled over while the corpse was in the trunk. With all of that going on, we got good character development between Kanan and Raquel.

It is good to see these two really talk without any danger looming for a while. Regardless that Kanan found out why they were really there, I like the scenes when they were at the campfire. I say this because they really bonded and I think it was time to show character progression in a non-violent level.

The star of this episode is Jukebox as her high notes stood out like a sharp sword. The actress Hailey Kilgore can sing and I always look forward to her scenes that involve the character singing. It is too bad that Lou-Lou decided to use her written song for Zisa because it is better for Jukebox. I also feel bad for Jukebox as her and her mom seems like they will not reconcile. Those scenes are hard to watch!

My next question that is looming over my head is will Marvin kill Toni? He could do it so he can have full creative control of Bullet Proof Records. But what will it do for him in the long run if that were to happen? Also, I wonder what is the end goal for Howard since Burke is getting closer to the truth as well.

There are five more episodes left for the season and the story is still cooking for a huge payoff by the end.

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Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 2, Episode 4 Review

by Julian Cannon
written by Julian Cannon

This week’s edition of Power Book III: Raising Kanan is raising the stakes with the turf war between Raq’s group and the Italians.

That is because the Italians were intercepting every one of Raq’s transports. I have a feeling that Unique had something to do with this to get back at Raq. My first suspicion was the phone call earlier in the episode. If this does come out true, then thgat means Unique is finding a way to get back on top. While Raq is also lying to Kanan and Jukebox, Symphony ended his relationship with Raq and I wonder where will things go from there.

Jukebox and her mom talked for the first time and I was happy to see this. But the conversation was all not reminiscing about past times. Jukebox wanted to get down to why she left her and she admitted that she was scared to raise her when she was younger. I honestly thought that Letoya Luckett is a great fit to play as Jukebox’s mom. I’ve seen her act on several shows prior to Raising Kanan and she is really good!

I must say that I thought it was funny how Kanan was in one room while Raq, Marvin, and Lou were talking. Kanan did steal the money and Marvin found out that some of it was missing. But he did not figure out that it was Kanan though.

Regarding the Italian group again, Raq rejected their offer and this could be dangerous on both sides. We saw what happened when a similar deal could not be reached on Power Book IV: Force so it will be interesting to see what the outcome of this will be.

The fun is not over yet as Kanan and Famous hosted a party. It is here that we see Kanan and Corrine meet for the first time. Do I think that these two will get together? No. But if this means that it could soon lead to Kanan meeting the younger Jarita since they had a son, then I am all for it. Also, good to see KJ Smith (from BET’s Sistas) on this episode.

Due to the fact that the decomposing corpse in the wall was alluded to in this episode, I believe that this will be one of the factors driving the cops to discover Raq’s operation in the projects as the result of finding the dead corpse. There is no doubt in Kanan’s mind that he sees right through Raq. It will only be a matter of time before he is free of her completely. During the first season, he completely trusted her and listened to everything she said. As this season progresses, we are starting to see that foundation beginning to crack, and he is becoming more and more doubtful about her. I believe he will be running the streets on his own by the end of the season or next season, mirroring what his Uncle Vernon told him about Defcon when he was a kid.

I cannot wait for next week’s episode!

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Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 2, Episode 3 Review

by Julian Cannon
written by Julian Cannon

The first words that came out of my mouth upon watching this week’s Power Book III: Raising Kanan is “Raq should have killed Unique.”

That did not happen. But I do believe Unique will team up with the Italian group to get back at Raquel and her empire. But does this mean that Raq is going to start losing control of being the kingpin? I do not think so. She has more problems to clean up other than the nasty rats that chewed up her money. I feel that Kanan is starting to know that Raq is lying to him as she has an answer to every bit of his concerning questions. The way they are writing Raq, they should have written Ghost the same way. That master manipulator, who lies and deceives everyone around them.

The best scenes of this week’s episode featured Kanan and Famous. These two have a great brotherly bond and I am looking forward to seeing more of them on this season of Raising Kanan. I think that because Famous’ name were on the cassette covers, it might tie into something in the future that could affect Raq’s connection to the drug game.

I do have a theory. As a result of her relationship with Howard, Raq snipped on Marvin and DefCon so that she could lead them. The purpose of Howard telling Raq Scrappy was to kill him and lie to Kanan about it- all to turn Kanan against his mother. As soon as Kanan discovers she killed Scrappy and lied about it, his relationship with her may be lost forever.

And then we finally see Jukebox and her mom meet for the first time at the church and Jukebox stormed off after seeing her. Jukebox will have a ton of questions so I hope that this will be addressed soon. But at the recording studio is where Jukebox also shines as the actress Hailey Kilgore haas a great voice and when she sings, I am drawn into her.

Solid episode of Raising Kanan this week!

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Exclusive: Power Book III: Raising Kanan Star Ade Chike Torbert on Scrappy’s Death

by Julian Cannon
written by Julian Cannon

For most of the series, Scrappy appears to be the most loyal member of Raq’s crew, played by Ade Chike Torbert in Starz’s ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’, the prequel to ‘Power’.

As a result of Kanan killing Howard and Marvin not showing up on time in the season 1 finale, Raq sends Scrappy to pick Kanan up and navigate him out of the traps that the police have set up for Kanan. The second season, however, seems to have shifted Scrappy’s focus away from the people who have been his enemies for the past few seasons to people who are his new enemies. In order to deal with him permanently, Raq decides to deal with him permanently after learning that he might be a C.I.

This led to Scrappy’s shocking death as he was led to a warehouse by Lou-Lou and Marvin which was preceded by Raquel shooting him in the head. 

“I just thought about all of Scrappy’s grievances from season one, from being passed up from them giving Kanan power and me having to babysit Kanan, just really swallowing a lot of things and never fully speaking my truth,” said Abe as he reflected on the storytelling of Scrappy for this season. Scrappy has been on Raq’s side since day one and he has been central to her group.

Scrappy was there when he saw Kanan shoot Detective Howard. For the first season, Scrappy took a backside and did not stand up to anyone for the most part. But for the one time he did, it was because he witnessed what just transpired. “I think the one time you kind of really hear Scrappy stand up is the season one finale when I pick up Kanan and then I’m like, ‘Wait, Kanan shot the cop? We got to go.’ So I think feeling these even accusations that I’m possibly disloyal just made me go. Well, you know what? You want to have this conversation, then we’re going to air out all of our grievances because I got some bones I want to pick, too. So it was just an opportunity to me to approach it from a place where who is someone that doesn’t have an opportunity to fully speak up within their at their limit and finally explode,” said Abe.

Within the months between the production of the first season and the production of the second season, Abe found out that the character was going to be killed off. Abe also said that he had enough time to mourn the loss of Scrappy before they shot the pivotal scene. “I was just getting started. I’m thinking about my impact for season two and all the possibilities, but it gave me a lot of time to really just to mourn it as a because these people, they become real, they become a part of you. He’s done a hell of a job. He’s gone through a lot of things. So now I just wanted to try to honor him so that I could leave on a high note, as high as I possibly could, even on labeled as a snitch. But, you know, I try to do everything in my control to just honor the characters,” said Abe.

 

 

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Tales of The Walking Dead Episode 3 Review

by Julian Cannon
written by Julian Cannon

After two episodes of Tales of The Walking Dead that I thought were okay to lackluster, the series managed to knock it out the park with this week’s “Dee.”

That is because we got to learn more about Dee’s transformation into Alpha on the main series. Samantha Morton reprised her role as the character on this spinoff and by the end of it, I wondered if we could ever get a small spinoff of The Whisperers just like we did for 2021’s Dead in the Water.

I will admit that the setting was a little weird by The Walking Dead standards, but I was more open to it than last week’s mess of an episode. Dee and Lydia was part of a group in which they worked on a private boat where they have parties like it is the old times. They eventually leave after a conflict over a death of one of the members. It is at this point where Dee begins to teach Lydia how to handle the walkers while also Lydia having to witness Dee slice open Brooke’s mouth.

By the end of this episode, they encountered The Whisperers. I thought that it was an interesting twist for Dee and Lydia to join them instead of being the group’s founders. A good detail that I also liked is that the Whisperer mask Alpha had on the main show, is the face of the former leader of The Whisperers.

While all of this is great storytelling, I am puzzled by the timeline. Did this take place after her original backstory episode on season 10? or somewhere in between? Samantha Morton said at the Comic Con panel that her backstory episode on the main show was from Lydia’s point of view and not every detail is correct as it seemed. We learned the truth on Tales of The Walking Dead, but how much of that truth could we believe?

Furthermore, this is the best episode of Tales of The Walking Dead. Great storytelling all around as we got the birth of Alpha through this show!

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Exclusive: Idris Elba and Cast Talks Beast Film

by Julian Cannon
written by Julian Cannon

The summer thriller season is coming to an end later this month when Idris Elba and Universal Pictures bring one last thriller to the big screen.

He plays one of the leading roles in the new survival thriller, Beast, directed by Baltasar Kormákur, in which he plays the role of Dr. Nate Daniels, a father who takes his two daughters to South Africa for an adventure. Eventually, the newly widowed Daniels and his daughters find themselves being hunted by a rogue lion during a safari, which leads to the newly widowed Daniels having to fight for the lives of himself and his daughters. In spite of the fact that he had intended for this trip to heal his strained relationship with his daughters, it has turned into one where he is forced to test his bond with them in a competition for survival. Iyana Halley (The Hate U Give, This is Us series) plays Daniels’ 18-year-old daughter, Meredith, and Leah Sava Jeffries (Rel series, Empire series) plays his 13-year-old, Norah.

We recently caught up with Idris Elba to talk about Beast. He was thrilled to say that he had a great time being part of the cast and to be in Africa to see the wildlife. We also talked about the stuntwork, and if he would like to see DC’s Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Black Adam, and Superman all in one film!

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