1
Jun

Streaming Picks: June 2022

FILMS
Top Picks
Brazil – Peacock 6/1
Paths of Glory – Paramount+ 6/1
The Card Counter – HBO Max 6/10
The Mist – Netflix 6/22
Last month I focused on comedy’s because there was so much awfulness in the world. Well, guess what? Shit got worse! So I’m leaning into that by highlighting these masterfully directed bummers, including The Card Counter. Paul Schrader’s latest was one of my top 10 films of 2021.


Other Recommendations
13 Going on 30 – HBO Max 6/1
1917 – Peacock 6/1
Alien – Hulu 6/1
Aliens – Hulu 6/1
Alien³ – Hulu 6/1
Along Came Polly – Peacock 6/1
The Amazing Spider-Man – Netflix 6/1
The American – Hulu 6/1
Anchorman – Netflix 6/1
Annie Hall – Prime 6/1
As Good as It Gets – Paramount+ 6/1
Baby Mama – Peacock 6/1
Back to the Future – Peacock 6/1
The Bank Job – HBO Max 6/1
Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey – Paramount+ 6/1
Black Swan – Prime 6/1
The Bourne Legacy – Peacock 6/1
The Bourne Ultimatum – Peacock 6/1
Boxcar Bertha – Paramount+ 6/1
The Brady Bunch Movie – Prime and Paramount+ 6/1
Bridesmaids – Hulu 6/1
Brokeback Mountain – Peacock 6/1
Burn After Reading – Hulu 6/1
But I’m a Cheerleader – Peacock 6/1
Call Me by Your Name – Prime 6/1
Chef – HBO Max 6/1
Christmas Vacation – Netflix 6/1
Colossal – HBO Max 6/1
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – HBO Max 6/1
Dante’s Peak – Peacock 6/1
The Deer Hunter – Peacock 6/1
The Departed – Netflix 6/1
Dick – Hulu 6/1
Die Hard – Hulu 6/1
Die Hard 2 – Hulu 6/1
Die Hard with a Vengeance – Hulu 6/1
Domino – HBO Max 6/1
Dumb and Dumber – Netflix 6/1
Edge of Seventeen – Netflix 6/1
An Education – Hulu 6/1
Eraser – Netflix 6/1
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial – Peacock 6/1
Fast Five – Peacock 6/1
Fences – Prime and Paramount+ 6/1
The Fifth Element – Hulu 6/1
The Fighter – Netflix 6/1
The Firm – HBO Max 6/1
Galaxy Quest – Prime 6/1
Get Low – Hulu 6/1
The Grand Budapest Hotel – HBO Max 6/1
Groundhog Day – Prime 6/1
Hairspray (2007) – HBO Max 6/1
Harold and Maude – Paramount+ 6/1
Hellboy II: The Golden Army – Peacock 6/1
How Do You Know – HBO Max 6/1
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days – Paramount+ 6/1
The Hurt Locker – Netflix 6/1
I Know What You Did Last Summer – HBO Max 6/1
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer – HBO Max 6/1
The Importance of Being Earnest – HBO Max 6/1
In & Out – Prime and Paramount+ 6/1
In the Line of Fire – Hulu 6/1
Jaws – Peacock 6/1
Juice – Paramount+ 6/1
Juno – Prime 6/1
Klute – HBO Max 6/1
Magnolia – Paramount+ 6/1
The Mask – HBO Max 6/1
Megamind – Prime 6/1
Mermaids – Paramount+ 6/1
Mission: Impossible – Netflix 6/1
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Netflix 6/1
Mo’ Better Blues – Peacock 6/1
mother! – Prime 6/1
Mr. Mom – Prime 6/1
Napoleon Dynamite – Hulu 6/1
The Nutty Professor (1996) – Hulu and Prime 6/1
Office Space – Paramount+
The One I Love – HBO Max 6/1
Paris Is Burning – HBO Max 6/1
Philadelphia – Prime 6/1
Pitch Perfect – Peacock 6/1
The Preacher’s Wife – Paramount+ 6/1
Predator – Hulu 6/1
The Presidio – Prime and Paramount+ 6/1
The Professional – Hulu and Netflix 6/1
Prometheus – Hulu 6/1
The Pursuit of Happyness – Peacock 6/1
Rosemary’s Baby – Prime 6/1
The Sandlot – Prime 6/1
Scream 4 – Paramount+ 6/1
Selma – Paramount+ 6/1
Shaun of the Dead – Prime 6/1
Sideways – Paramount+ 6/1
Slumdog Millionaire – Hulu 6/1
Speed – Peacock 6/1
Spider-Man – Peacock 6/1
Spider-Man 2 – Peacock 6/1
Spy Kids – Paramount+ 6/1
A Star Is Born (2018) – HBO Max 6/1
Steel Magnolias – Netflix 6/1
There’s Something About Mary – Hulu 6/1
The Thing (1982) – Peacock 6/1
The Time Machine (2002) – Prime 6/1
Titanic – Netflix 6/1
Top Gun – Prime 6/1
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot – Paramount+ 6/1
White Men Can’t Jump – Peacock, Prime and Paramount+ 6/1
Witness – Paramount+ 6/1
World’s Greatest Dad – Prime 6/1
Zoolander – Paramount+ 6/1
No Time to Die – Prime 6/10
The Wolf of Wall Street – Prime and Paramount+ 6/12
The Worst Person in the World – Hulu 6/13
Detroit – Paramount+ 6/14
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? – Netflix 6/16
Non-Stop – HBO Max 6/17
It (2017) – Netflix 6/19
Philomena – Netflix 6/20

NEW SHOWS & SPECIALS
Top Picks
The Boys (Season 3) – Prime 6/3
Evil (Season 3) – Paramount+ 6/12
Only Murders in the Building (Season 2) – Hulu 6/28
This spring was already jam-packed with new and returning shows, and the summer won’t be giving us a reprieve. Two of the smartest shows about “Our Current Troubled Times” return, while Martin Short, Steve Martin and Selena Gomez will be back with more laughs and mysteries in Season 2 of Only Murders in the Building.

Other Recommendations
Bill Burr Presents: Friends Who Kill – Netflix 6/6
Birdgirl (Season 2) – HBO Max 6/20

Posted in Film, Previews, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Streaming Picks: June 2022
28
May

TV Recap: May 22-28, 2022

NEW SHOWS
Better Call Saul – “Plan and Execution” (A) / mid-season finale
A breathtaking episode that pays off every little moment of this half-season so far. Patrick Fabian gives the best performance of his career here, which makes the final seconds that much more devastating.

BINGEING
The Kids in the Hall – Season 6 (B+ average)
Any sketch series is by definition hit-or-miss. While it’s such a delight to have these guys back, this particular season feels almost entirely front-loaded. The first three episodes are packed with laugh-out-loud sketches, while the later episodes have more unusual sketches that don’t produce nearly as many laughs.

REWATCH
Seinfeld – Season 7 (B+ average)
Some of the more wacky episodes feel like the writers trying to do something crazy in hopes that Michael Richards can make it work (which he often does). Still, this season in particular has a mean edge that keeps it from feeling stuck in a rut.

Posted in Reviews, Television | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on TV Recap: May 22-28, 2022
23
May

TV Recap: May 15-21, 2022

NEW SHOWS
Atlanta – “Tarrare” (A-) / season finale
A big swing that mostly works thanks to Zazie Beetz’s committed performance. There’s been something off with Van all season, and this finale reveals a true detachment from reality that’s alternately hilarious and horrifying. This is one of the great things about this show Just like the byzantine and surreal journey Van’s friends from Atlanta go on through Paris, so too did this season go to unexpected, surprising and amazing places.

The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks (B+)
As good as these sorts of fawning documentaries can be.

Posted in Reviews, Television | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on TV Recap: May 15-21, 2022
16
May

TV Recap: May 8-14, 2022

BINGEING
Evil – Season 2 (A- average)
The show got even better in Season 2, even if there were times where I had no idea what was going on with Christine Lahti’s character. “S Is for Silence” immediately joins the pantheon of all-time great single episodes. It was so much more than just a gimmicky hour.

Ozark – Season 4, Part 2 (B- average)
I’m still trying to figure out why I dug the first half of this season so much more than the second half. I think it has to do with Episode 8 being a solid wrap-up for Ruth, getting her revenge and leaving the Byrdes scrambling. But then there were six more episodes, with the writers finding one more corner to paint Marty and Wendy into, spinning their wheels and bringing back old characters for what, exactly. The last moment was pretty good, but then it resolved in a pretty unsatisfying way.

Posted in Reviews, Television | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on TV Recap: May 8-14, 2022
10
May

20 After 20: 2001

Thanks to the world getting to some place approaching normal in 2021, I went back to the activities I loved that didn’t cause me to stay cooped up. Alas, that meant I didn’t devote as much time as I should have to this project. Thus, it’s late by a month. But that did give me the opportunity to revisit some films I hadn’t seen in 20 years, many of which revealed deeper worlds within, which my adolescent brain couldn’t quite appreciate at the time.

20. Vanilla Sky (dir. Cameron Crowe)
Cameron Crowe is one of our country’s most sincere filmmakers. On paper, his style should clash with this unforgiving sci-fi remake. But he guides his Jerry Maguire star through hell and back with impeccable needle drops and disturbing images. As the biggest hit of his career, I wish he would have continued down this path instead of making increasingly syrupy family dramas.

19. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (dir. John Cameron Mitchell)
Unapologetically brash and emotional, this rock musical goes deep on gender identity, betrayal and resiliency. Mitchell adapts his own musical, giving the film vibrancy and lived-in authenticity. There are still too few films like it.

18. Audition (dir. Takashi Miike)
One of the most terrifying films ever made, Miike’s breakout film in the U.S. holds off on its scares for a good hour of the film. And then… a phone call. After that, all bets are off, and it’s a delirious, hellish nightmare.

17. Donnie Darko (dir. Richard Kelly)
Whether you prefer the original or the less ambiguous Director’s Cut, it’s hard to deny the power of Richard Kelly’s debut feature. Bleak, disturbing and wholly original, it’s an important film for any Millennial. While the film has been memed and Kelly has yet to make anything nearly this good again, it endures for its dark beauty.

16. The Man Who Wasn’t There (dirs. Joel & Ethan Coen)
Foolishly considered a lesser entry in the Coen Brothers’ sterling filmography, their black-and-white noir is one of their best. Billy Bob Thornton – who had an incredible year with this, Bandits and the Oscar-winning Monster’s Ball – stars as a Ed, bored barber who blackmails and kills his wife’s lover (James Gandolfini) and gets away with it. But fate makes sure he’s punished, first with his wife (Frances McDormand) arrested for the murder, then with Ed implicated in the death of his shady business partner (Jon Polito). With typically lush cinematography from Roger Deakins and pitch black humor, this is one worth rediscovering.

15. A Knight’s Tale (dir. Brian Helgeland)
Aside from one film later on this list, this is the most rewatchable film of 2001. Though hardly a success at the time of its release, it was not found wanting in the years after its home video release. The sheer star wattage of Heath Ledger could have powered the entire state of California during their energy crisis, but it’s Paul Bettany who steals the show with his energetic take on Geoffrey Chaucer.

14. Moulin Rouge! (dir. Baz Luhrmann)
The last time the Australian director’s maximalist style worked. (Though we’ll see if his Elvis biopic can recapture the charm. I have my doubts.) It’s dazzling, heartbreaking and over-the-top by design. You’re either on board with Jim Broadbent doing backflips to Fatboy Slim and Nirvana in a period musical, or you’re no fun.

13. Amélie (dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
Until 2001, Jeunet was known for his tactile and often disgusting sci-fi films (including a much-maligned Alien sequel). Who knew he was hiding such a big heart under there? Audrey Tautou, who somehow didn’t get nominated for Best Actress, is luminous as our heroine, who travels Paris searching for ways to make people happy. She succeeds in putting a big smile on the face of the audience, too.

12. Gosford Park (dir. Robert Altman)
I didn’t appreciate Altman’s sprawling dramedy at the time. It was too dry for my taste, despite having some great moments. Now it feels like the perfect marriage of director and writer (Julian Fellowes). I never got into Downton Abbey, despite it being on in my house constantly. The class satire that faded in that show and its two movies is still brilliant here.

11. In the Bedroom (dir. Todd Field)
This tiny independent drama shocked a lot of folks when it wound up with five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. But anyone who’s seen it knows they were all richly deserved. A quiet but exquisitely directed film, it deals with a lot of raw emotions without tipping over into melodrama. The ripple effects of a tragedy reveal deep sadness and pent-up frustrations in a seemingly perfect family. Field’s script and the cast’s performances are so perfectly calibrated that every character choice is understandable, if not exactly justifiable.

Continue reading →
Posted in Best Of, Film | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on 20 After 20: 2001
1
May

Streaming Picks: May 2022

FILMS
Top Picks
Black Dynamite – Paramount+ 5/1
Forgetting Sarah Marshall – Hulu 5/1
Top Secret! – HBO Max 5/1
Walk Hard – Peacock 5/1
There’s a lot of awful shit going on in the world, so here’s four comedies that are guaranteed to make you laugh and forget your troubles, if only for 90 minutes.

Other Recommendations
13 Going on 30 – Peacock 5/1
500 Days of Summer – Prime 5/1
The A-Team – Hulu 5/1
About a Boy – Peacock 5/1
The Addams Family (1991) – Paramount+ 5/1
The American – Peacock 5/1
American Gangster – Peacock 5/1
Armageddon – Peacock 5/1
Back to School – HBO Max 5/1
A Beautiful Mind – Hulu 5/1
The Best Man (1999) – Peacock 5/1
The Big Sleep – HBO Max 5/1
Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey – Prime 5/1
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure – Prime 5/1
Billy Madison – Hulu 5/1
The Blues Brothers – Peacock 5/1
Bottle Rocket – HBO Max 5/1
Bound – Paramount+ 5/1
Bram Stoker’s Dracula – Prime 5/1
The Breakfast Club – Hulu 5/1
Brown Sugar – Peacock 5/1
Cabaret – Paramount+ 5/1
Chungking Express – HBO Max 5/1
The Color of Money – Paramount+ 5/1
Con Air – Peacock 5/1
Constantine – Peacock 5/1
Corpse Bride – Netflix 5/1
Crazy Stupid Love – Netflix 5/1
Creepshow – Peacock 5/1
Cyrus – Hulu 5/1
Days of Heaven – Paramount+ 5/1
Dazed and Confused – Hulu 5/1
Den of Thieves – Netflix 5/1
Despicable Me – Hulu 5/1
Devil in a Blue Dress – HBO Max 5/1
Die Hard – Peacock 5/1
Die Hard 2 – Peacock 5/1
Die Hard with a Vengeance – Peacock 5/1
Dodgeball – Hulu 5/1
Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood – Prime 5/1
Drag Me to Hell – Hulu 5/1
Dude, Where’s My Car? – Hulu and Prime 5/1
Easy A – Hulu 5/1
Elizabethtown – Paramount+ 5/1
Enemy of the State – Peacock and Prime 5/1
Eraser – HBO Max 5/1
Fargo – Prime 5/1
Fast Times at Ridgemont High – Peacock 5/1
Field of Dreams – Prime 5/1
The Fifth Element – Paramount+ 5/1
The Fighter – Paramount+ 5/1
Footloose (1984) – Paramount+ 5/1
Forrest Gump – Netflix 5/1
Frida – HBO Max 5/1
The Fugitive – HBO Max 5/1
Fun with Dick and Jane – Hulu 5/1
Funny People – Hulu 5/1
Galaxy Quest – Paramount+ 5/1
The Gentlemen – Netflix 5/1
Grease – Paramount+ 5/1
Groundhog Day – Paramount+ 5/1
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle – Hulu 5/1
Hot Fuzz – Hulu 5/1
Independence Day – Peacock and Prime 5/1
Intolerable Cruelty – Peacock 5/1
Jackass: The Movie – Netflix 5/1
Jarhead – Peacock 5/1
John Q – Netflix 5/1
The Land Before Time – Peacock 5/1
Land of the Lost – Peacock 5/1
A League of Their Own – Prime 5/1
The Legend of Zorro – Hulu 5/1
The Little Rascals – Peacock 5/1
Live Free or Die Hard – Peacock 5/1
Marathon Man – Paramount+ 5/1
Marie Antoinette (2006) – Hulu 5/1
Mean Girls – Paramount+ 5/1
Menace II Society – Netflix 5/1
Milk – Peacock 5/1
The Missing – HBO Max 5/1
Mission: Impossible – Paramount+ 5/1
Mission: Impossible II – Paramount+ 5/1
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Paramount+ 5/1
Mr. Mom – Paramount+ 5/1
The Namesake – Peacock 5/1
Nebraska – Paramount+ 5/1
The New Guy – HBO Max 5/1
The Odd Couple – Paramount+ 5/1
Office Space – Prime 5/1
Open Range – Prime 5/1
Out of Sight – Peacock 5/1
Paper Moon – Paramount+ 5/1
The Peanut Butter Falcon – Peacock 5/1
The Perks of Being a Wallflower – HBO Max 5/1
Platoon – Prime 5/1
Pleasantville – Hulu 5/1
The Professional – Paramount+ 5/1
Public Enemies – Peacock 5/1
A Quiet Place Part II – Prime 5/1
A Raisin in the Sun (2008) – Hulu 5/1
A River Runs Through It – Netflix 5/1
Road to Perdition – Netflix, Paramount+ and Prime 5/1
The Rundown – Peacock 5/1
Saving Private Ryan – Paramount+ 5/1
Scary Movie – Paramount+ 5/1
Scary Movie 2 – Paramount+ 5/1
Schindler’s List – Peacock 5/1
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World – Peacock 5/1
Shrek – Peacock and Prime 5/1
Shrek 2 – Peacock and Prime 5/1
Sicario – Peacock 5/1
Sideways – Prime 5/1
Sleepy Hollow – Paramount+ 5/1
Snatch – Peacock 5/1
Star Trek (2009) – Paramount+ 5/1
Steel Magnolias – Paramount+ 5/1
Still Alice – Hulu 5/1
Stuart Little – Hulu 5/1
Sweet Home Alabama – Peacock 5/1
Taken – Hulu and Prime 5/1
The Talented Mr. Ripley – Peacock 5/1
Tangerine – Prime 5/1
Terminator 2: Judgment Day – HBO Max 5/1
Tombstone – Peacock and Prime 5/1
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit – Peacock 5/1
War of the Worlds (2005) – Netflix and Paramount+ 5/1
When Harry Met Sally – Netflix 5/1
White Men Can’t Jump – Hulu 5/1
Wrath of Man – Prime 5/1
Zero Dark Thirty – Prime 5/1
Halloween III: Season of the Witch – Peacock 5/5
They Live – Peacock 5/5
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – Prime 5/6
The Matrix Resurrections – HBO Max 5/10
Allied – Paramount+ 5/11
The Lincoln Lawyer – Netflix 5/13

NEW SHOWS & SPECIALS
Top Picks
Hacks (Season 2) – HBO Max 5/12
The Kids in the Hall (Season 1) – Prime 5/13
Hacks was one of last year’s most pleasant surprises, and earned Jean Smart a long overdue Lead Actress Emmy. Hannah Einbinder made a remarkable debut as her feisty joke writer. Now that the odd couple are firmly friends, the tricky work of still making incredible jokes continues.

And speaking of comedy legends, the Canadian quintet returns to TV (sort of) with a reboot for Amazon Prime. Based on the trailer, it doesn’t look like any of their weirdness has been toned down with age or working for an evil corporation.

Other Recommendations
Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known – HBO Max 5/3
Eurovision Song Contest – Peacock starting 5/10
Stranger Things (Season 4, Volume 1) – Netflix 5/27

Posted in Film, Previews, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Streaming Picks: May 2022
30
Apr

TV Recap: Apr. 24-30, 2022

NEW SHOWS
Barry – “Forgiving Jeff” (A) / season premiere
It’s six months later, and everyone seems to be on an upward trajectory, except for Barry and Gene. So it’s no surprise that their reunion is among the most thrilling and intense moments the show has ever done. But no, they didn’t forget to be funny either. This season looks to be the darkest yet. But Bill Hader and his team are continuing to thread the needle between comedy and tragedy. They haven’t slipped yet.

REWATCH
Seinfeld – Season 6 (B+ average)
The show’s basically on cruise control at this point, and there are quite a few filler episodes, which is not unexpected at this point in a broadcast comedy’s run. But it’s also capable of churning out classics like “The Race,” “The Beard,” “The Jimmy” and “The Fusilli Jerry.”

Posted in Reviews, Television | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on TV Recap: Apr. 24-30, 2022
23
Apr

TV Recap: Apr. 17-23, 2022

NEW SHOWS
Better Call Saul
“Wine and Roses” (A-) / season premiere
“Carrot Stick” (A)
The season begins with perhaps the most masterful montage the show has ever done (which is quite an accomplishment) and finds our nominal heroes making all the wrong decisions. The second episode is one of the most thrilling hours of television I’ve seen in a while. I was on the edge of my seat, whether Saul was trying to not to get caught with his pants down – which he does figuratively by pulling his pants down literally – or Nacho was trying to escape with his life.

Posted in Reviews, Television | Tagged | Comments Off on TV Recap: Apr. 17-23, 2022
16
Apr

TV Recap: Apr. 10-16, 2022

NEW SHOWS
Killing Eve – “Hello, Losers” (D) / series finale
I was still a defender of this show, even last season when the shine had worn off. The Season 3 finale would have been the perfect place to end, but the allure of one last ride proved too tempting, I guess. They should have left it alone. The entire driving engine of this season – hunting down the Twelve and recruiting Pam – never felt compelling or even interesting. The last two episodes especially indulged in unearned fan service and “shocking” kills that had zero impact because I’d stopped caring by then. Even a last-minute “twist” wasn’t enough to delight or enrage me. What a shame. A waste of a season, and a complete destruction of serious goodwill.

Abbott Elementary – “Zoo Balloon” (A-) / season finale
A solid ending to a spectacular season. Unlike many shows, this one didn’t need time to figure out its ensemble. It was great from the jump and only got better. It’s the best new show of the year, the best pure comedy of the year, and the best show on network TV in nearly a decade. Give it all the Emmys.

Posted in Reviews, Television | Tagged , | Comments Off on TV Recap: Apr. 10-16, 2022
3
Apr

TV Recap: Mar. 27-Apr. 2, 2022

NEW SHOWS
94th Academy Awards (D)
An absolute disaster of a show, right up until an unscripted moment of insanity. Everyone will be talking about Will Smith’s outburst until the end of time. But it was the only interesting moment in an incredibly dull, unfocused, astonishingly unfunny broadcast.

REWATCH
The Simpsons – Season 9 (B+ average)
A bit more of a mixed bag than the glory days of Seasons 4-8, but I’ve finally come back around to thinking that “The Principal and the Pauper” is quite good. So feel free to take any other Simpsons opinions of mine with a grain of salt.

Posted in Oscars, Reviews, Television | Tagged , , | Comments Off on TV Recap: Mar. 27-Apr. 2, 2022