Streaming Picks: November 2022

FILMS
Top Picks
Devil in a Blue Dress – Hulu 11/1
Little Woods – HBO Max 11/1
Top Five – Paramount+ 11/1
Nope – Peacock 11/18

Other Recommendations
2 Days in the Valley – Prime and Paramount+ 11/1
10 Things I Hate About You – Prime 1/1
28 Days Later – Hulu 11/1
500 Days of Summer – HBO Max 11/1
Accepted – HBO Max 11/1
Adaptation – Hulu 11/1
Along Came Polly – Hulu and Peacock 11/1
American Gangster – Peacock 11/1
Balto – Peacock 11/1
Basic Instinct – Paramount+ 11/1
Beethoven – Peacock 11/1
The Big Lebowski – Peacock 11/1
The Bodyguard – Netflix 11/1
The Bone Collector – Peacock 11/1
The Boss – Peacock 11/1
Bridesmaids – Peacock 11/1
Brown Sugar – Prime 11/1
Bruce Almighty – Peacock 11/1
Caddyshack – HBO Max 11/1
The Call (2013) – Hulu 11/1
Carpool – Hulu 11/1
Casino – Peacock 11/1
Cast Away – Hulu 11/1
Christmas Vacation – HBO Max 11/1
Clueless – Paramount+ 11/1
Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop – Prime 11/1
Crimson Tide – Paramount+ 11/1
The Crow – Paramount+ 11/1
Dawn of the Dead (2004) – Hulu 11/1
Death Becomes Her – Peacock 11/1
Death Race – Peacock 11/1
The Deer Hunter – Peacock 11/1
Dennis the Menace – Netflix 11/1
Despicable Me – Peacock 11/1
Down to Earth – Prime and Paramount+ 11/1
Dr. No – Paramount+ 11/1
Dracula (1992) – Paramount+ 11/1
Draft Day – HBO Max 11/1
Easy A – Peacock 11/1
Face/Off – Prime 11/1
The Family Man – Peacock 11/1
Flight – Paramount+ 11/1
Fools Rush In – Hulu 11/1
Footloose (1984) – Paramount+ 11/1
Forgetting Sarah Marshall – Peacock 11/1
Forrest Gump – Paramount+ 11/1
From Russia with Love – Paramount+ 11/1
Funny Face – Paramount+ 11/1
GoldenEye – Paramount+ 11/1
Goldfinger – Paramount+ 11/1
Gremlins – Peacock 11/1
Gremlins 2: The New Batch – Peacock 11/1
Harry and the Hendersons – Peacock 11/1
Harry Potter series – HBO Max 11/1
High Fidelity – Prime and Paramount+ 11/1
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days – Paramount+ 11/1
I Am Not Your Negro – Hulu 11/1
I Know What You Did Last Summer – Hulu 11/1
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer – Hulu 11/1
In & Out – Paramount+ 11/1
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) – Prime 11/1
The Italian Job (2003) – Paramount+ 11/1
Jacob’s Ladder (1990) – Prime 11/1
Just Friends – Peacock 11/1
King Kong (2005) – Peacock 11/1
Kingdom of Heaven – Prime 11/1
The Last of the Mohicans (1992) – Peacock 11/1
The Legend of Zorro – Netflix 11/1
Legends of the Fall – Hulu 11/1
Liar Liar – Peacock 11/1
License to Kill – Paramount+ 11/1
The Little Rascals – Netflix 11/1
Love Actually – Peacock 11/1
Lucy – Peacock 11/1
The Machinist – Prime 11/1
The Madness of King George – Prime and Paramount+ 11/1
Major Payne – Peacock 11/1
Mama – Hulu 11/1
The Manchurian Candidate (2004) – Prime 11/1
The Mask of Zorro – Netflix 11/1
Meet the Fockers – Peacock 11/1
Meet the Parents – Peacock 11/1
The Mexican – Paramount+ 11/1
Miami Blues – Prime and Paramount+ 11/1
Minority Report – Paramount+ 11/1
Miss Sloane – HBO Max 11/1
Moneyball – Netflix 11/1
Monsters vs. Aliens – Peacock 11/1
MouseHunt – Prime and Paramount+ 11/1
Mr. Mom – HBO Max 11/1
Murder in the First – HBO Max 11/1
My Beautiful Laundrette – HBO Max 11/1
The Naked Gun – Paramount+ 11/1
Neighbors (2014) – HBO Max 11/1
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist – Hulu 11/1
Nick of Time – Prime and Paramount+ 11/1
Not Another Teen Movie – Hulu 11/1
Notting Hill – Hulu and Netflix 11/1
Office Space – Hulu 11/1
Once upon a Time in Mexico – Hulu 11/1
Paranormal Activity – Paramount+ 11/1
The Patriot – Hulu 11/1
The Perfect Storm – Hulu 11/1
The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Hulu and Paramount+ 11/1
Pride & Prejudice (2005) – Peacock 11/1
Primal Fear – Prime and Paramount+ 11/1
The Professional – Prime and Paramount+ 11/1
Punch-Drunk Love – Hulu 11/1
Raging Bull – HBO Max 11/1
Reality Bites – Peacock 11/1
The Replacements – Peacock 11/1
Richard III (1995) – HBO Max 11/1
Road to Perdition – Prime 11/1
Role Models – Peacock 11/1
Se7en – HBO Max 11/1
Say Anything – Hulu 11/1
School of Rock – Paramount+ 11/1
Scrooged – Prime and Paramount+ 11/1
Secret Window – Hulu 11/1
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World – Peacock 11/1
Selena – Peacock 11/1
The Sessions – Hulu 11/1
Shanghai Knights – Hulu 11/1
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow – Prime 11/1
Something Wild (1986) – Prime and Paramount+ 11/1
Spanglish – Hulu 11/1
Split – Paramount+ 11/1
Stargate – HBO Max 11/1
Starship Troopers – Paramount+ 11/1
Still Alice – Hulu and Netflix 11/1
Strictly Ballroom – Paramount+ 11/1
Super 8 – Paramount+ 11/1
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines – Hulu 11/1
Things We Lost in the Fire – Prime and Paramount+ 11/1
Three Amigos – HBO Max and Paramount+ 11/1
Tootsie – Hulu 11/1
Training Day – Netflix 11/1
Up in the Air – Netflix 11/1
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit – Peacock 11/1
Wanderlust – Peacock 11/1
Whiplash – Peacock 11/1
You Don’t Mess with the Zohan – Hulu 11/1
War Horse – Prime 11/1
The Warriors – Paramount+ 11/1
The Weather Man – Paramount+ 11/1
While We’re Young – HBO Max 11/1
Zoolander – Paramount+ 11/1
Saw – Hulu 11/2
The Cabin in the Woods – Prime 11/3
Licorice Pizza – Paramount+ 11/3
Captain Phillips – Netflix 11/6
Angels & Demons – Netflix 11/9
Warm Bodies – Hulu and Prime 11/10
Fruitvale Station – Hulu, Prime and HBO Max 11/11
Booksmart – Peacock 11/20

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TV Recap: Oct. 16-22, 2022

NEW SHOWS
Documentary Now! – “Soldier of Illusion” (A-) / season premiere
This show couldn’t be more niche, but I absolutely adore it and hope it runs for as long as the creative team wants to keep it going. This season premiere parodies Les Blank’s Burden of Dreams brilliantly, but it picks up other aspects of the troubled partnership between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski, too. We’ve seen Alexander Skarsgard’s comic chops before, but I was blown away by how hilarious August Diehl (most often cast as a Nazi officer) was.

CURRENT SHOWS & SPECIALS
Werewolf by Night (B+)
Probably the best complete thing to come out of the MCU’s Phase Four. I could not give less of a shit about the “Bloodstone” or whatever use it may have in projects to come. But the style and tone are so much more interesting than just about anything they’ve done in the past two years.

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TV Recap: Oct. 9-15, 2022

NEW SHOWS
Kevin Can F**k Himself – “Allison’s House” (A) / series finale
A strong finale to a challenging season. The show’s final “break” between reality and sitcom pulled everything together, showing us the real Kevin: an emotionally abusive, selfish asshole, not an occasionally lovable doofus.

BINGEING
Mad Men – Season 2 (A- average)
A stronger season with perhaps the richest bench of characters in dramatic television history. Don’s business trip/hedonistic descent to L.A. made for one of the best arcs I’ve ever seen.

NewsRadio – Season 2 (A- average)
Funnier and sharper, it’s magnificent how everyone in its large ensemble gets a chance to be the funniest character at any given moment.

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TV Recap: Sept. 25-Oct. 1, 2022

NEW SHOWS
Reservation Dogs – “I Still Believe” (A) / season finale
While some of the twists and turns of our quartet’s journey to California were predictable (car trouble, losing that big wad of cash), a lot of it was not (Incubus lead singer Brandon Boyd playing White Jesus, original sexy sax man Tim Cappello). But the catharsis of their big group hug in the Pacific Ocean had me weeping. There really isn’t another show as funny, original and deep as this on any platform.

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Streaming Picks: October 2022

FILMS
Top Picks
Jacob’s Ladder – Paramount+ 10/1
Jennifer’s Body – Prime and Paramount+ 10/1
The Skin I Live In – Hulu 10/1
Tremors – Peacock 10/1
The Witch – HBO Max 10/1
It’s spooky season, so I’ve highlighted some excellent horror movies. Jennifer’s Body and Tremors are a lot of fun, but the others are pretty fucked up, with Pedro Almodóvar’s 2011 film taking the cake. Weirdly Netflix isn’t big on horror this month, but they do have a new Mike Flanagan show.

Other Recommendations
13 Hours – Prime 10/1
17 Again – Netflix 10/1
30 Minutes or Less – Netflix 10/1
The 40-Year-Old Virgin – Peacock 10/1
About Time – Hulu 10/1
The Abyss – Hulu 10/1
The Addams Family – Paramount+ 10/1
The Age of Innocence – Hulu 10/1
A.I. Artificial Intelligence – Prime and Paramount+ 10/1
Air Force One – Peacock 10/1
All About My Mother – Hulu 10/1
America’s Sweethearts – Hulu 10/1
The American President – HBO Max 10/1
American Ultra – Hulu 10/1
Animal House – Peacock 10/1
Annihilation – Prime 10/1
Apollo 13 – Peacock 10/1
Arachnophobia – Peacock 10/1
As Above, So Below – Hulu 10/1
Back to the Future – Peacock 10/1
The Bad News Bears (1976) – HBO Max 10/1
Blade – Hulu 10/1
Blade II – Hulu 10/1
Blazing Saddles – Hulu 10/1
The Bourne Legacy – Peacock 10/1
The Bourne Ultimatum – Peacock 10/1
Bridesmaids – Prime 10/1
The Bridge on the River Kwai – HBO Max 10/1
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – HBO Max 10/1
Call Me by Your Name – Netflix and HBO Max 10/1
Casino – Hulu 10/1
Cedar Rapids – Hulu 10/1
Chocolat (2000) – Netflix 10/1
Christmas in Connecticut (1945) – HBO Max 10/1
City Slickers – Netflix 10/1
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – Hulu 10/1
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Prime 10/1
Cyrus – Prime 10/1
Dante’s Peak – Peacock 10/1
Definitely, Maybe – Peacock 10/1
Desperado – Hulu 10/1
The Dictator – Prime and Paramount+ 10/1
District 9 – HBO Max 10/1
Dude, Where’s My Car? – HBO Max 10/1
Edward Scissorhands – Prime 10/1
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial – Peacock 10/1
European Vacation – Netflix 10/1
Event Horizon – Paramount+ 10/1
Fair Game (2010) – HBO Max 10/1
The Fugitive – Hulu 10/1
Galaxy Quest – Peacock 10/1
Get Shorty – Prime 10/1
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) – Hulu 10/1
The Godfather trilogy – Peacock 10/1
High-Rise – Prime 10/1
Hoosiers – HBO Max 10/1
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days – Netflix 10/1
How to Train Your Dragon – Peacock 10/1
Hulk – Hulu 10/1
I Know What You Did Last Summer – Paramount+ 10/1
I Love You, Man – Netflix 10/1
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer – Paramount+ 10/1
I’m Gonna Git You Sucka – HBO Max 10/1
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) – Paramount+ 10/1
Jumanji – Peacock 10/1
Juno – HBO Max 10/1
Kiss the Girls – HBO Max 10/1
Krampus – Peacock 10/1
Land of the Lost – Netflix and Prime 10/1
Layer Cake – Hulu 10/1
Let Me In – Hulu 10/1
Let’s Be Cops – HBO Max 10/1
Looper – Hulu 10/1
Man on Fire – Prime 10/1
Monster House – Hulu 10/1
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) – Netflix 10/1
The Natural – Peacock 10/1
Nightcrawler – HBO Max 10/1
Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot – Prime 10/1
O Brother, Where Art Thou? – Hulu 10/1
Ocean’s Eleven – Netflix 10/1
Ocean’s Thirteen – Netflix 10/1
Ocean’s Twelve – Netflix 10/1
Old School – Paramount+ 10/1
Patriot Games – Prime and Paramount+ 10/1
A Perfect Getaway – Peacock 10/1
The Perfect Host – HBO Max 10/1
The Perfect Storm – HBO Max 10/1
Piranha (2010) – Hulu and Prime 10/1
Point Break (1991) – Netflix 10/1
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping – HBO Max 10/1
The Purple Rose of Cairo – Prime and Paramount+ 10/1
The Pursuit of Happyness – Hulu 10/1
Risky Business – Netflix 10/1
A River Runs Through It – Hulu 10/1
The River Wild – Peacock 10/1
The Rocky Horror Picture Show – Hulu 10/1
Rookie of the Year – Peacock 10/1
Rush Hour – Netflix 10/1
Rush Hour 2 – Netflix 10/1
Salt – Hulu 10/1
Saw – Peacock 10/1
Seabiscuit – Prime 10/1
Se7en – Peacock 10/1
Shane – Prime and Paramount+ 10/1
Shanghai Knights – Prime 10/1
Shutter Island – Prime and Paramount+ 10/1
The Silence of the Lambs – Prime 10/1
The Sixth Sense – Hulu 10/1
Source Code – Prime 10/1
Spotlight – HBO Max 10/1
Spy – Peacock 10/1
Support the Girls – Prime 10/1
S.W.A.T. – HBO Max 10/1
Taken – Peacock 10/1
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) – Netflix 10/1
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze – Netflix 10/1
Twister – Hulu 10/1
Unbreakable – Hulu 10/1
Undercover Brother – Hulu 10/1
Up in the Air – Prime 10/1
Vacation (1983) – Netflix 10/1
Vanilla Sky – Prime and Paramount+ 10/1
The Visit – Peacock 10/1
Waist Deep – HBO Max 10/1
Wedding Crashers – Netflix 10/1
The Wedding Singer – Peacock 10/1
Winchester – Hulu and Prime 10/1
The Woman in Black – Paramount+ 10/1
X-Men – Hulu 10/1
X-Men: First Class – Peacock 10/1
Zack and Miri Make a Porno – Prime 10/1
Zombieland – Peacock 10/1
Catch Me if You Can – Paramount+ 10/3
Desperately Seeking Susan – Paramount+ 10/3
Fruitvale Station – Paramount+ 10/3
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – Paramount+ 10/3
The Manchurian Candidate (2004) – Paramount+ 10/3
Mean Girls – Paramount+ 10/3
Raiders of the Lost Ark – Paramount+ 10/3
Scream – Paramount+ 10/3
Scream 2 – Paramount+ 10/3
Silverado – Paramount+ 10/3
Something’s Gotta Give – Paramount+ 10/3
Tootsie – Paramount+ 10/3
WarGames – Paramount+ 10/3
Drumline – Disney+ 10/7
The Northman – Prime 10/11
Don’t Breathe – Peacock 10/15
The French Dispatch – Hulu 10/25
Crimes of the Future – Hulu 10/31
The Way Way Back – Hulu 10/31

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TV Recap: Sept. 18-24, 2022

NEW SHOWS
Abbott Elementary – “Development Day” (A) / season premiere
Basically everything you could want in the season premiere to last year’s breakout comedy. Everything here plays to the show’s strengths: It’s realistic without being bleak, sweet without being saccharine and funny without sacrificing logic or heart.

BINGEING
Mad Men – Season 1 (B+ average)
After many years of stopping and starting this often slow-paced, character-driven show, I finally made it through the first season, and I now understand why everyone was so obsessed with it. Jon Hamm is giving the performance of a lifetime as Don Draper, but it’s the writing of such miserable characters that will keep me hooked until the end.

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TV Recap: Sept. 11-17, 2022

NEW SHOWS
The Handmaid’s Tale
“Morning” (B-) / season premiere
“Ballet” (A)
The show has no more tricks up its sleeve, and Elisabeth Moss’s performance is no longer among the best on TV. I’m a little tired of the literal hand-wringing from June about her bloody revenge killing. The show needs to wrap it up, but it still has one more season after this to do so. Still, the second episode, in which Serena returns to Gilead to give Fred a state funeral, is among the best of the series.

Atlanta
“The Most Atlanta” (A+) / season premiere
“The Homeliest Little Horse” (A)
After a polarizing Season 3, the crew returns home and the show is as brilliant as ever. The season premiere rang especially true for this former Atlantan, with a surreal journey through the most well-trodden and hidden places in Georgia’s capital city. The second episode – intentionally or not – felt like a riff on Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal, with Earn using his now vast wealth to get revenge. Maybe that’s something he should be working on in therapy.

BINGEING
NewsRadio – Season 1 (A- average)
Unlike some sitcoms, the show didn’t need any time to find its footing. The ensemble gelled immediately and took the bold step of diving headfirst into an office romance, instead of a lengthy will they-won’t they. No wonder it was one of my favorites in my youth.

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Emmy Predictions 2022: Drama

DRAMA SERIES
Better Call Saul (AMC)
Euphoria (HBO)
Ozark (Netflix)
Severance (AppleTV+)
Squid Game (Netflix)
Stranger Things (Netflix)
Succession (HBO)
Yellowjackets (Showtime)

Will win: Succession
Could win: Squid Game
Should win: Better Call Saul
Should have been nominated: Evil (Paramount+)

The skinny: The winner will come down to how long voters’ memories are. Neither Squid Game nor Succession aired an episode in 2022, but one of them will emerge victorious. This is a classic case of not knowing if voters will go for something new and exciting or reliably great. So far my money is on honoring the past winner that got even better. It’s just too bad their win will come at the expense of Better Call Saul, which is likely to go down as the biggest loser in Emmy history.

ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jason Bateman, Ozark
Brian Cox, Succession
Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Adam Scott, Severance
Jeremy Strong, Succession

Will win: Brian Cox
Could win: Jeremy Strong
Should win: Bob Odenkirk
Should have been nominated: Mike Colter, Evil

The skinny: I honestly have no idea who’s going to win this. Cox has seemed like he would win ever since Succession started, and his Logan Roy is more ruthless than ever. But Strong was arguably even better this season than he was in Season 2, which he won for. And of course Odenkirk has made Jimmy deeper every single episode, and there could be some residual goodwill since his heart attack. And of course none of that might matter, because Squid Game could surprise us all and win across the board. I would not bet on this category.

ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Laura Linney, Ozark
Melanie Lynskey, Yellowjackets
Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Reese Witherspoon, The Morning Show
Zendaya, Euphoria

Will win: Zendaya
Could win: Laura Linney
Should win: Melanie Lynskey
Should have been nominated: Katja Herbers, Evil

The skinny: The Emmys love Laura Linney, and I’m a little surprised she hasn’t won for Ozark yet. But this is Zendaya’s to lose. But man, the only person happier than me to see Lynsey win is her husband Jason Ritter.

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Emmy Predictions 2022: Comedy and Variety

COMEDY SERIES
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Barry (HBO)
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
Hacks (HBO Max)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Ted Lasso (AppleTV+)
What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

Will win: Abbott Elementary
Could win: Ted Lasso
Should win: Barry
Should have been nominated: Reservation Dogs (Hulu)

The skinny: A truly wonderful lineup that failed to include last year’s best comedy (Reservation Dogs). While Ted Lasso won big last year, it’s more complex second season will probably come up empty. But Abbott Elementary has all the momentum and good will, and I think it will be the first broadcast show to win this award since Modern Family. May it run just as long.

COMEDY ACTOR
Donald Glover, Atlanta
Bill Hader, Barry
Nicholas Hoult, The Great
Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building
Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso

Will win: Bill Hader
Could win: Jason Sudeikis
Should win: Nicholas Hoult
Should have been nominated: John Goodman, The Righteous Gemstones

The skinny: Barry hadn’t aired a new episode since 2019, but it felt like it hadn’t missed a beat. Even if the show doesn’t get the big award, I think Hader’s almost guaranteed to win a third Best Actor trophy.

COMEDY ACTRESS
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Kaley Cuoco, The Flight Attendant
Elle Fanning, The Great
Issa Rae, Insecure
Jean Smart, Hacks

Will win: Jean Smart
Could win: Quinta Brunson
Should win: Elle Fanning
Should have been nominated: Devery Jacobs, Reservation Dogs

The skinny: Is there any woman on TV funnier than Jean Smart? I can’t think of one, and her second consecutive win for Hacks would be quite all right with me. As the creator and writer of the Abbott Elementary, it’s also possible voters honor Abbott here, even though she’s arguably the third or fourth funniest person on her own show (see also: Donald Glover’s Best Actor win for Atlanta‘s first season).

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TV Recap: Sept. 4-10, 2022

NEW SHOWS
What We Do in the Shadows – “Sunrise, Sunset” (B) / season finale
Always a shame when a successful season ends on more of a meh note. But there wasn’t much choice but to return to square one, with Colin Robinson back to being a full-grown energy vampire and the nightclub shutting down. Nothing wrong with resetting – as comedies like this have to do sometimes – but it doesn’t hit the heights of this season’s best moments.

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