30
Dec

Oscar Picks: December 2022

BEST PICTURE
Avatar: The Way of Water
Babylon
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
TÁR
Top Gun: Maverick
The Woman King
Women Talking

Falling off: Armageddon Time, She Said, White Noise
Rising star: Triangle of Sadness

The skinny: Despite underperforming even last year’s flop West Side Story, it still feels like The Fabelmans is on top. Everything else is too divisive. Of course, I’ve been wrong with this line of thinking before.

BEST DIRECTOR
Damien Chazelle, Babylon
Daniels, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans
Todd Field, TÁR
Sarah Polley, Women Talking

Falling off: Noah Baumbach
Rising star: S.S. Rajamouli, RRR

The skinny: At this point, it feels like only Spielberg is secured a slot, with everything else up for grabs. Yes, that even includes a lone nomination for RRR.

BEST ACTOR
Austin Butler, Elvis
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser, The Whale
Hugh Jackman, The Son
Bill Nighy, Living

Falling off: Adam Driver
Rising star: Gabriel LaBelle, The Fabelmans

The skinny: I’m not sure why Hugh Jackman is still here. The Son has vanished from all discourse. But he’s still well-liked and Sony Pictures Classics has pulled off miracles before. Still, this is Fraser’s award to lose.

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, TÁR
Ana de Armas, Blonde
Danielle Deadwyler, Till
Michelle Williams, The Fabelmans
Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Falling off: Carey Mulligan (moved to Supporting)
Rising star: Olivia Colman, Empire of Light

The skinny: Are people prepared for Olivia Colman to sneak in at the expense of Danielle Deadwyler? It’s certainly possible, though the SAG nominations will make this a lot clearer.

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24
Dec

TV Recap: Dec. 18-24, 2022

BINGEING
NewsRadio – Season 4 (A average)
The finest workplace comedy’s last season with its MVP (Phil Hartman). The most consistently hilarious season. It’s so great that even a silly Titanic parody works like gangbusters.

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19
Dec

TV Recap: Dec. 11-17, 2022

NEW SHOWS
The White Lotus – “Byg” (A) / season finale
This season has focused a lot on vague fissures and unseen interactions, which meant I wasn’t quite as enamored with it as I was with Season 1. But this finale pulled out all the stops. Because this season began with the discovery of multiple bodies, the focus was on who was going to die. But that just let creator/writer/director Mike White subvert expectations for more than an hour. It was brilliant and hilarious, with just the right amount of melancholy.

BINGEING
Mad Men – Season 4 (A- average)
Another strong season, even as Don was in freefall. That finale feels a little bit rushed, but you can do that with an episode that slows things down as perfectly as “The Suitcase,” one of the best hours of television ever made.

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5
Dec

TV Recap: Nov. 27-Dec. 3, 2022

CURRENT SHOWS & SPECIALS
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (B+)
The first MCU Phase Four project that felt like its creative team actually gave a shit. It’s a total delight, free of the bullshit connective tissue to other content. Not even a totally detached Chris Pratt can ruin this Christmas.

BINGEING
The Crown – Season 5 (A- average)
Another accomplished season, though it appears unlikely to make my top 10, given how much great TV we’ve had this year. Elizabeth Debicki is this season’s clear MVP.

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5
Dec

Streaming Picks: December 2022

This will be the last post in this format. Look for a more carefully curated version of this column coming next month!

FILMS
Top Picks
The Banshees of Inisherin – HBO Max 12/13
Glass Onion – Netflix 12/23
Top Gun: Maverick – Paramount+ 12/22
Three of the best movies of the year, though only the latter two would be good to put on when the whole family’s over for the holidays.

Other Recommendations
21 Jump Street – Netflix 12/1
The 40-Year-Old Virgin – Prime 12/1
Basic Instinct – Prime 12/1
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead – Hulu 12/1
The Breakfast Club – Paramount+ 12/1
Bring It On – Peacock 12/1
Burn After Reading – HBO Max 12/1
Capote – Prime 12/1
Christine (2016) – Hulu 12/1
Clear and Present Danger – Paramount+ 12/1
Cloverfield – Prime and Paramount+ 12/1
The Color of Money – Paramount+ 12/1
Dawn of the Dead (2004) – Hulu 12/1
De Palma – HBO Max 12/1
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels – Prime and Paramount+ 12/1
Doubt – Paramount+ 12/1
Election – Paramount+ 12/1
Elizabethtown – Prime 12/1
Ever After – Hulu 12/1
Everest – Peacock 12/1
Final Destination series – Hulu 12/1
First Cow – Peacock 12/1
First Reformed – HBO Max 12/1
Footloose (1984) – Paramount+ 12/1
Forgetting Sarah Marshall – Paramount+ 12/1
Gone Girl – HBO Max 12/1
Green Room – HBO Max 12/1
Heist (2001) – Prime and Paramount+ 12/1
Hotel Transylvania – Prime 12/1
The Hurt Locker – Paramount+ 12/1
If Beale Street Could Talk – Paramount+ 12/1
In the Line of Fire – Paramount+ 12/1
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 – Peacock 12/1
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 – Peacock 12/1
Kingpin – Prime 12/1
A League of Their Own – Paramount+ 12/1
Liar, Liar – Hulu 12/1
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou – Hulu 12/1
Little Women (2019) – Paramount+ 12/1
Malcolm X – Paramount+ 12/1
The Manchurian Candidate (2004) – Prime 12/1
Miracle on 34th Street (1947) – Peacock 12/1
Miss Congeniality – Peacock 12/1
Mission: Impossible III – Paramount+ 12/1
Mo’ Better Blues – Peacock 12/1
Moonrise Kingdom – Peacock 12/1
Moonstruck – Paramount+
The Muppets Take Manhattan – Prime and Paramount+ 12/1
Muriel’s Wedding – Paramount+ 12/1
My Fellow Americans – HBO Max 12/1
My Girl – Netflix 12/1
O Brother, Where Art Thou? – Peacock 12/1
Ordinary People – Prime and Paramount+ 12/1
Out of Sight – Peacock 12/1
Paper Moon – Prime 12/1
Paranormal Activity – Prime 12/1
Pet Sematary (1989) – Prime and Paramount+ 12/1
The Proposal – Prime 12/1
The Pursuit of Happyness – Prime and Paramount+ 12/1
Puss in Boots – Peacock 12/1
The Quiet Man – Prime 12/1
Rosemary’s Baby – Paramount+ 12/1
The Royal Tenenbaums – Hulu 12/1
Rudy – Paramount+ 12/1
Saturday Night Fever – Prime and Paramount+ 12/1
Shutter Island – Paramount+ 12/1
Sisters (2015) – Peacock 12/1
Sleepless in Seattle – Paramount+ 12/1
Small Soldiers – Paramount+ 12/1
Speed – Peacock 12/1
Superbad – Prime 12/1
Thelma & Louise – Prime 12/1
Thief – Prime and Paramount+ 12/1
To Catch a Thief – Prime 12/1
Tombstone – Peacock 12/1
True Lies – Peacock 12/1
Unbreakable – Peacock 12/1
Uncle Buck – Paramount+ 12/1
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot – Paramount+ 12/1
White Men Can’t Jump – Hulu 12/1
Wild Things – Paramount+ 12/1
Win Win – Prime 12/1
Witness – Paramount+ 12/1
Zoolander – Prime 12/1
Celeste and Jesse Forever – Prime and Paramount+ 12/5
La La Land – Prime 12/8
The Night House – Hulu 12/8
Prisoners – Netflix 12/10
Batman Begins – Hulu 12/12
The Dark Knight – Hulu 12/12
The Dark Knight Rises – Hulu 12/12
Dunkirk – Hulu 12/12
Inception – Hulu 12/12
Insomnia – Hulu 12/12
Blade Runner: The Final Cut – Hulu 12/12
Blade Runner 2049 – Hulu 12/12
The Black Phone – Prime 12/13
Side Effects – Netflix 12/18
No Escape (2015) – Netflix 12/26
Django Unchained – Paramount+ 12/27
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. – HBO Max 12/27
White Noise (2022) – Netflix 12/30
Enough Said – Hulu 12/31

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20
Nov

TV Recap: Nov. 13-20, 2022

NEW SHOWS
Documentary Now! – “Trouver Frisson” (B+) / season finale
A heartwarming tribute to the films of Agnès Varda, and one of the few non-cynical entries of the show as the whole. I hope this isn’t the end of this brilliant but extremely low-rated show. But if it is, it went out on a high note.

BINGEING
Mad Men – Season 3 (A- average)
An incredible season of television, capped off with one of the most entertaining episodes of any series. The only reason I can’t grade it higher is the lackluster “Souvenir.” Take it out and this is among the best full seasons of TV.

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12
Nov

TV Recap: Nov. 6-12, 2022

NEW SHOWS
The Handmaid’s Tale – “Safe” (B-) / season finale
This season was even more frustrating than last season. You could almost feel the writers stretching this out for 10 more episodes, only to rush this finale that made the baffling decision to make June and Serena mom BFFs. Still, it’s well-acted and directed, and the show at least dealt with the reality that many countries – no matter how progressive – are still hostile to refugees. It was a dumb story arc, but you bet your ass I’m still gonna watch the final season next year.

Atlanta – “It Was All a Dream” (A) / series finale
Was Darius dreaming at the end? Does it even matter? Atlanta cranked up the surreal flourishes for this finale, exploring the city – or at least Darius’s mind – and finding terror, pressure, beauty and joy. A perfect ending, unless you wanted something more straightforward. And anyone who stuck with the show this long knows that’s not what they do.

BINGEING
NewsRadio – Season 3 (A- average)
With two seasons to go, I’m ready to declare this the best workplace comedy ever (give or take Cheers, which is technically a workplace comedy). The ensemble works together flawlessly, and the stretch of episodes that aired in the winter and spring of 1997 are among the best of any sitcom of the 90s.

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7
Nov

Too Early for This: Oscar Picks – November 2022

BEST PICTURE
Armageddon Time
Avatar: The Way of Water
Babylon
The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
She Said
TÁR
White Noise
Women Talking

Falling off: Bardo, Empire of Light, The Son
Rising star: Top Gun: Maverick

The skinny: After flopping at multiple festivals, the latest self-indulgent films from past Best Director winners Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Sam Mendes will likely vanish without a trace, alongside The Son, which failed to live up to the acclaim of Florian Zeller’s previous film The Father. But movies about movies? They’re still in, with Spielberg’s autobiographical The Fabelmans currently in the lead. Speaking of the autobiographical, Armageddon Time is getting a pass until it goes wide, but Maverick is (almost literally) on its tail.

BEST DIRECTOR
Damien Chazelle, Babylon
Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans
Todd Field, TÁR
Noah Baumbach, White Noise
Sarah Polley, Women Talking

Falling off: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Sam Mendes, Ruben Östlund
Rising star: Park Chan-wook, Decision to Leave

The skinny: Spielberg is the most financially successful producer and director of the last 50 years, and he already has two Oscars for directing, but it would be hard to see him losing to anyone in this slate. Another international director could also pop in, and right now it looks like Park Chan-wook, with Ruben Östlund falling off thanks to a chilly domestic reception to Triangle of Sadness.

BEST ACTOR
Austin Butler, Elvis
Adam Driver, White Noise
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser, The Whale
Hugh Jackman, The Son

Falling off: Colin Firth
Rising star: Bill Nighy, Living

The skinny: I only have one question: Where is the trailer for The Whale? Fraser is still the odds-on favorite, but are we ever going to get a look at his performance?

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, TÁR
Ana de Armas, Blonde
Danielle Deadwyler, Till
Carey Mulligan, She Said
Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Falling off: Viola Davis
Rising star: Jennifer Lawrence, Causeway

The skinny: Blanchett is likely to pick up her third Oscar. It’s the performance of the year, but she does have some serious competition from Danielle Deadwyler and Michelle Yeoh, neither of whom have been nominated before.

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5
Nov

TV Recap: Oct. 30-Nov. 5, 2022

NEW SHOWS
The White Lotus – “Ciao” (B+) / season premiere
Not quite as immediately gripping as the first season, but there’s still no shortage of where the show could go, even as some characters seem obvious replacements for Season 1’s awful rich people.

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2
Nov

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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