TV Recap: Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2022

NEW SHOWS
We Need to Talk About Cosby (A-)
An essential documentary. I’ll refer you to my review from Sundance.

BINGEING
Ozark – Season 4, Part 1 (A- average)
Every time I think I’m over this show, or see a runtime over one hour, or we encounter another impossible challenge with a tight deadline, Ozark kicks into high gear and I’m hooked all over again. Splitting seasons is an annoying game networks and streamers play to get an extra year of Emmy eligibility, and it really feels like half a season instead of an enticing cliffhanger. But I think it’s safe to say Julia Garner is getting a third Emmy.

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The Best and Worst Movies of 2021

10. Annette (dir. Leos Carax)
“So may we start?”
This rock opera from Leos Carax and Sparks never quite reaches the heights of its opening number. (Then again, no movie this year could.) But its bold vision, catchy songs and singularly unlikable protagonist (played by Adam Driver, who had a hell of a year) will stick with me, even in a year chock full of musicals.

9. The Card Counter (dir. Paul Schrader)
America, fuck no! Schrader’s latest tale of “God’s Lonely Man” features very little card counting but a lot of feeble attempts at absolving a man’s (and a nation’s) sins. But of course leave it to Schrader to drop a completely sincere romantic scene in the middle of such grim business.

8. Licorice Pizza (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
Were it not for two unnecessary and uncomfortable scenes with John Michael Higgins, this would sit much higher on my list. Even so, this journey through young love(?) in the Valley in the ’70s is a total delight. Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim deliver star-making debuts and feature the kind of chemistry other actors would take years to develop. But that’s not all! There’s a bevy of cameos, each more hilarious than the last. Bradley Cooper as Jon Peters has hogged all the attention, but there are marvelous one-offs with Christine Ebersole (as Lucille Ball), Tom Waits (as a hard-drinking, chain-smoking director) and Harriet Sansom Harris (as a clueless agent). It also features the year’s best soundtrack.

7. The French Dispatch (dir. Wes Anderson)
Slight? Hardly. Once again, he’s made the most West Anderson movie ever. Inspired by The New Yorker and the many American writers who hung out in Paris after World War II, The French Dispatch has great admiration for journalism and storytelling. Each segment, whether bite-size or lengthy, has a moment or image to make you smile, laugh or tear up. Usually all three.

6. The Power of the Dog (dir. Jane Campion)
The first hour of this film is appropriately uncomfortable. “Is it just going to be this asshole saying hurtful things to people the whole time?” And then the second hour approaches and it all starts coming into focus. Everyone here is giving career-best performances as a quartet of broken people forced together; contents under pressure. It’s a lot of volatility managed beautifully by Campion, making her return to feature films for the first time since 2009.

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Final Oscar Picks 2022

BEST PICTURE
Being the Ricardos
Belfast
CODA
Don’t Look Up
Dune
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
The Lost Daughter
The Power of the Dog
West Side Story

Dark Horse: Drive My Car
Long Shot: Tick, Tick… Boom!
Total Shock: Spider-Man: No Way Home
The skinny: This is basically the PGA lineup, with Tick, Tick… Boom! swapped for The Lost Daughter. It’s not exciting. It’s not sexy. It’s not innovative. But here we are. If that populist body wasn’t going to nominate the biggest movie of the year (which isn’t even among the 30 best movies 2021), it has no chance at the Oscars. But I’m still hoping the year’s best movie (Drive My Car) can somehow sneak in here. Even if it doesn’t, it will still find itself with plenty of other deserving nominations.

BEST DIRECTING
Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car
Denis Villeneuve, Dune
Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
Steven Spielberg, West Side Story

Dark Horse: Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
Long Shot: Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter
Total Shock: Julia Ducournau, Titane
The skinny: I would not be shocked if Kenneth Branagh found his way in here, yet another bit of recognition for his personal comeback story. But I’m still predicting Hamaguchi will pull off the same feat Thomas Vinterberg did last year, with his foreign language film earning him a much-deserved nod here, despite being absent in Best Picture.

BEST ACTOR
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
Peter Dinklage, Cyrano
Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick… Boom!
Will Smith, King Richard
Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth

Dark Horse: Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos
Long Shot: Nicolas Cage, Pig
Total Shock: Simon Rex, Red Rocket
The skinny: This is the same five I’ve had for a while. Cage and Rex give my two favorite performances of the year, but Cage already has an Oscar and Rex will have to settle for his Independent Spirit Award nomination. If anyone has a chance of breaking in, it’s Javier Bardem. Dinklage and Washington are both vulnerable, and either one could lose out in a wave of support for Being the Ricardos.

BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter
Lady Gaga, House of Gucci
Jennifer Hudson, Respect
Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos

Dark Horse: Kristen Stewart, Spencer
Long Shot: Penélope Cruz, Parallel Mothers
Total Shock: Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza
The skinny: As usual, there are a ton of women who could and should make the final five, but will lose out to women playing real people. This mirrors the SAG lineup exactly. Kristen Stewart still feels like she could make her way in, but she has absolutely nothing to show for it except a slew of critics’ awards and a Golden Globe nod, which are basically meaningless when talking about the Oscars this year.

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Streaming Picks: February 2022

FILMS
Top Pick
Nightmare Alley (2021) – Hulu and HBO Max 2/1
Unfortunately, Guillermo del Toro’s lavish adaptation of a pitch-black novel (co-written with Kim Morgan) floundered at the box office, despite operating at a level rarely seen these days. Fortunately, its quick death at the box office means a lot more people will get to see it less than two months after its theatrical debut. It may not work for everyone, but it was heaven for me to see Stanton Carlyle (Bradley Cooper in a career-best turn) go through hell.

Other Recommendations
3:10 to Yuma (2007) – HBO Max 2/1
12 Years a Slave – HBO Max 2/1
A.I. Artificial Intelligence – Peacock 2/1
The A-Team – Prime 2/1
The Addams Family (1991) – Netflix 2/1
Airplane! – Hulu and Paramount+ 2/1
Ali – Hulu and Peacock 2/1
Almost Famous – Hulu 2/1
The Bank Job – Hulu 2/1
Batman (1989) – Hulu 2/1
Batman & Robin – Hulu 2/1
Batman Begins – Netflix 2/1
Batman Forever – Hulu 2/1
Batman Returns – Hulu 2/1
Beethoven – Hulu 2/1
Black Dynamite – HBO Max 2/1
Black Swan – Hulu 2/1
Blade – Peacock 2/1
Blade II – Peacock 2/1
The Blues Brothers – Peacock 2/1
Borat – Hulu and Prime 2/1
The Bourne Ultimatum – Netflix 2/1
The Breakfast Club – Peacock 2/1
Bridesmaids – Peacock 2/1
Broken Arrow – Hulu and Paramount+ 2/1
Caddyshack – Netflix 2/1
Casa de Mi Padre – HBO Max 2/1
Chinatown – HBO Max 2/1
Clockers – Peacock 2/1
Clue – Paramount+ 2/1
Crooklyn – Paramount+ 2/1
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Hulu and Paramount+ 2/1
The Dark Knight – Netflix 2/1
Definitely, Maybe – Peacock 2/1
Despicable Me – Netflix 2/1
The Devil’s Advocate – Netflix 2/1
Die Hard with a Vengeance – Prime 2/1
Do the Right Thing – Peacock 2/1
Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood – Prime 2/1
Donnie Brasco – Netflix 2/1
Donnie Darko – HBO Max 2/1
Enemy of the State – Peacock 2/1
The Exorcist – Netflix 2/1
Fight Club – Hulu and Paramount+ 2/1
The Fly (1986) – Prime 2/1
Forrest Gump – Prime 2/1
The French Connection – Hulu and Paramount+ 2/1
Friends with Benefits – Peacock 2/1
Glory – Hulu and Paramount+ 2/1
Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) – Prime 2/1
The Hangover – Netflix 2/1
Hanna – Peacock 2/1
He Got Game – Hulu and Paramount+ 2/1
Hitch – Hulu 2/1
Hollywood Shuffle – Prime 2/1
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days – Peacock 2/1
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) – Hulu and Paramount+ 2/1
Jackass: The Movie – Paramount+ 2/1
Jackass Number Two – Paramount+ 2/1
Jackass 3 – Paramount+ 2/1
Jarhead – Peacock 2/1
Kingdom of Heaven – Hulu 2/1
Lake Placid – Hulu 2/1
Lincoln – Prime 2/1
Little Miss Sunshine – Prime 2/1
Live Free or Die Hard – Prime 2/1
Love & Mercy – HBO Max 2/1
Love Actually – Peacock 2/1
Man on Fire – Hulu 2/1
Midnight Run – Peacock 2/1
Miss Congeniality – Peacock 2/1
Mo’ Better Blues – Peacock 2/1
Monsters vs. Aliens – Peacock 2/1
The Negotiator – Netflix 2/1
Network – HBO Max 2/1
The New Guy – Netflix 2/1
The Other Guys – Hulu and Netflix 2/1
Patriot Games – Hulu and Paramount+ 2/1
Platoon – Prime 2/1
Rabbit Hole – HBO Max 2/1
Rango – HBO Max 2/1
Reign of Fire – Prime and Peacock 2/1
Return to Me – HBO Max 2/1
Robin Hood: Men in Tights – Hulu 2/1
Robocop (1987) – Prime 2/1
Rosemary’s Baby – Hulu and Paramount+ 2/1
Roxanne – Hulu and Paramount+ 2/1
The Rundown – Peacock 2/1
Santa’s Slay – HBO Max 2/1
The Searchers – HBO Max 2/1
The Shawshank Redemption – Peacock 2/1
Slap Shot – Peacock 2/1
Small Soldiers – Hulu and Paramount+ 2/1
Strictly Ballroom – Paramount+ 2/1
Sugar – HBO Max 2/1
Superbad – Peacock 2/1
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – HBO Max 2/1
Team America: World Police – Paramount+ 2/1
That Thing You Do! – Hulu and Paramount+ 2/1
There Will Be Blood – Paramount+ 2/1
This Is Where I Leave You – HBO Max 2/1
Tombstone – Hulu 2/1
The Tree of Life – Hulu 2/1
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story – Prime 2/1
Walk the Line – Prime 2/1
Wanderlust – Peacock 2/1
Warrior – Netflix 2/1
Wayne’s World – Paramount+ 2/1
Weird Science – Peacock 2/1
West Side Story (1961) – HBO Max 2/1
Whiplash – Hulu 2/1
White Men Can’t Jump – Hulu 2/1
Never Been Kissed – Disney+ 2/4
St. Vincent – Netflix 2/10
The Shape of Water – Hulu 2/15
Blackhat – Netflix 2/16
Three Identical Strangers – Hulu 2/27

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The List: Top 10 ‘Key & Peele’ Sketches

As sketch comedy exploded in the 2010s thanks to YouTube, Key & Peele stood head and shoulders above Saturday Night Live, a forgotten MADtv reboot, and any number of funny (but rarely brilliant) shows on IFC (which now seems to show exclusively Everybody Loves Raymond reruns). Part of this was their years of experience (both starred on MADtv in the waning years of its original run), part of this was their nuanced take on race, and part of it was the show was filmed and smartly edited (and only 22 minutes). While the show was consistently funny through five seasons, here are my 10 favorite sketches.

10. “Obama Meet & Greet” (Season 4, Episode 1)
While Obama’s “Anger Translator” feels less insightful as time goes on, this one has aged beautifully. After a press conference, Obama snakes his way through the crowd, giving bear hugs and fist bumps to his Black supporters, while politely shaking the hands or pushing away his more fawning white supporters. It’s hilarious and versatile enough to be memed.

9. “East/West College Bowl 2” (Season 3, Episode 12)
The sequel that surpassed the original. The first was inspired by former Jets tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson, but the silly names are even funnier in this follow-up. You just can’t talk about the 2013 season without talking about Fudge.

8. “Auction Block” (Season 1, Episode 3)
Arguably their darkest sketch, they established their greatness early on. A third-rail bit of comedy, the guys play slaves put up for auction. Obviously not wanting to be sent off for a life of back-breaking work and torture, they’re initially relieved when they’re not immediately bought. But as the available bodies dwindle, they grow increasingly offended, like kids on the basketball court. It’s sharp writing, perfected by the duo’s exasperated performances.

7. “Substitute Teacher” (Season 2, Episode 4)
The sketch that took them into the stratosphere. Key flies solo here as a veteran of inner-city schools who’s immediately lost in a well-funded suburban classroom filled with white students. What really makes it sing is the way Key starts at 11, and then keeps taking his rage to new levels.

6. “Martin Luther King Jr. vs. Malcolm X at the Theatre” (Season 1, Episode 2)
This sketch presages One Night in Miami – both the play and the movie – but still feels like a spot-on parody. A modest play about a fictional meeting between the two civil rights icons devolves into sound bites as the two insecure actors try to one-up each other. By the time Malcolm X is quoting Passenger 57 and MLK is doing the Worm, you know they’ve blown past a nuanced debate about nonviolence vs. action.

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TV Recap: Jan. 23-29, 2022

BINGEING
Luther – Season 4 (B+)
With only two episodes, it really puts the mini in miniseries. While DCI Luther’s story really wrapped up in the third run, there was still enough here to bring together the horrifying case he’s called back to consult on and the personal suffering he’s experiencing. Of course, I highly doubt the major events that kicked off this two-parter will actually stick.

Seinfeld – Season 4 (A- average)
Its early attempts at serialization aren’t very successful. But there are so many classic episodes in this season that it’s no surprise it won the Emmy.

Yellowjackets – Season 1 (A- average)
What a wild-ass show. Almost everything that happens is entirely preposterous, but the actors are so good that it’s all believable. While the actresses playing the teen versions of the sad adults don’t necessarily look like them, their cadences are perfect. But the real MVP of the show is the music supervisor, who carefully selects every spot-on ’90s needle drop.

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TV Recap: Jan. 16-22, 2022

BINGEING
The X-Files – Season 11 (B- average)
Far more successful than its previous season, the show featured only two duds: its premiere – which itself was still an improvement on the Season 10 finale – and the gory penultimate episode. Its ending wasn’t entirely satisfying, but as Emily VanDerWerff and Zack Handlen put it in their companion book Monsters of the Week, it’s still the best of the four endings the show had. Most shows don’t get that many do-overs, but I’d finally be OK if there’s truly no more of this show. This journey took more than a year, but it was absolutely worth it.

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TV Recap: Jan. 9-15, 2022

NEW SHOWS
The Righteous Gemstones
“I Speak in the Tongues of Men and Angels” (A-) / season premiere
“After I Leave, Savage Wolves Will Come” (A)
Adding actors as wild as Eric Andre and Eric Roberts only adds to a wildly successful ensemble. This means that – likely only temporarily – Kelvin (Adam DeVine) gets short shrift. But his gaggle of Power Team-wannabes and the sycophantic Keefe still make for great sight gags.

The show feels even better-directed than before. Extended scenes like the flashback that begins the scene and Gideon’s ride through the abandoned areas of the Gemstone compound have a deft touch to them. The show is as ridiculous as ever, but the people who make it so are even more committed.

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The Best Songs of 2021

I intentionally avoided a lot of new music this year. I checked out and enjoyed some albums by the likes of Silk Sonic and Lil Ugly Mane, but my focus was mostly on great music from the past. So for the first time in a long time, I won’t be doing a top 10 albums. Instead, I’ll add 10 more songs to my best tracks of the year playlist, which you can listen to on Spotify.

Adele – “Love Is a Game”
Arooj Aftab – “Mohabbat”
Julien Baker – “Bloodshot”
Courtney Barnett – “Rae Street”
Leon Bridges and Keite Young – “Like a Ship”
Big Thief – “Little Things”
BTS – “Butter”
Caribou – “You Can Do It”
Charli XCX feat. Christine and the Queens – “New Shapes”
Clairo – “Wade”
Lucy Dacus – “Thumbs”
Deafheaven – “Great Mass of Color”
Gang of Youths – “The Angel of 8th Ave.”
Idles – “The Beachland Ballroom”
Illuminati Hotties feat. Buck Meek – “UVVP”
Sarah Jaffe – “Frances McDormand, Catherine O’Hara”
Japanese Breakfast – “Be Sweet”
Cassandra Jenkins – “Hard Drive”
Khruangbin and Leon Bridges – “B-Side”
Lecrae feat. 1K Phew – “Wildin”
Little Simz – “Protect My Energy”
Lizzo feat. Cardi B – “Rumors”
Robert A.A. Lowe – “The Sweet”
Magdalena Bay – “You Lose!”
John Mayer – “Last Train Home”
Cristin Milioti – “715 Creeks”
Mitski – “Working for the Knife”
Mdou Moctar – “Afrique Victime”
Mr Jukes and Barney Artist – “Vibrate”
Kacey Musgraves – “Easier Said”
Noname – “Rainforest”
Arlo Parks – “Eugene”
Caroline Polachek – “Bunny Is a Rider”
Nolan Potter’s Nightmare Band – “Holy Scroller”
Joe Pug – “Crescent Bridge”
Purple Disco Machine feat. Moss Kena and the Knocks – “Fireworks”
Olivia Rodrigo – “Déjà Vu”
Royal Blood – “Typhoons”
RXKNephew – “American tterroristt”
serpentwithfeet – “Bless the Telephone”
Silk Sonic – “Leave the Door Open”
Snail Mail – “Valentine”
Sparks – “So May We Start”
Spoon – “The Hardest Cut”
St. Vincent – “The Nowhere Inn”
Tinashe feat. Wax Motif – “Undo (Back to My Heart)”
Turnstile – “New Heart Design”
FKA twigs feat. Headie One and Fred again.. – “Don’t Judge Me”
Tyler, the Creator – “Wilshire”
Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen – “Like I Used To”
Vandoliers – “Every Saturday Night”
Vanilla & Pepper – “Seven Seas”
The War on Drugs feat. Lucius – “I Don’t Live Here Anymore”
Kamasi Washington – “My Friend of Misery”
The Weather Station – “Tried to Tell You”
Kanye West – “Come to Life”
Tierra Whack – “Dolly”
Willow feat. Travis Barker – “Transparent Soul”
Remi Wolf – “Grumpy Old Man”
Yuno – “Somebody”

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The Best TV Performances of 2021

Best Actor in a Comedy Series
Glenn Howerton, A.P. Bio
Jack is basically Howerton’s Dennis from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but without the sexual deviance. He’s still an awful person, but a year-plus in his hometown of Toledo, Ohio, has made him kinder and gentler, but still with a knack for petty revenge schemes. In the show’s final season, his cynicism wears out his welcome with Lynnette as he realizes he still needs a lot more growth. But he just can’t help himself in out-psyching a potential new partner in the hilarious How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days riff “The Perfect Date from Hell.”

Best Actress in a Comedy Series
Jean Smart, Hacks
All hail Jean Smart, who joins Ted Danson as the greatest TV actors of all time. While she was terrific in Mare of Easttown, she’s even better here as the obscenely wealthy (she has a soda fountain in her kitchen!) and complacent comedian Deborah Vance. Desperate for love and attention, but savvier than she lets on, it’s a flawless performance. And newcomer Hannah Einbinder brings out the best in her.

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Cole Escola, Search Party
It takes a really compelling actor to create a villain this complex and still have you feel nothing but utter hatred for his character. But Escola does just that as the “evil twink” who kidnaps Dory, imprisoning her in a felt replica of her own apartment. He may be right that her friends circle was toxic, but he can’t make her see that she was the problem. He’s even more delusional than she is in thinking they can go from kidnapper/kidnapped to BFFs. But it was hilarious to watch him try, especially when he’s playing dress up in his aunt’s clothes.

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Tracey Ullman, Curb Your Enthusiasm
With apologies to the always wonderful Amy Ryan on Only Murders in the Building, no woman made me laugh harder this year than Ullman. As a late-season addition to the show, she served as a perfect foil for Larry. He dates her solely to try to get her to change a law he doesn’t like, but finds she’s more than just unpleasant: she’s a major disruptor to his whole routine. She butts heads with Leon and is perpetually horny, creating some priceless facial reactions from Larry. I could have watched her, Larry David and J.B. Smoove riff for hours.

Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series
Reservation Dogs
It’s not a surprise that veteran actors like Gary Farmer, Wes Studi and Zach McClarnon are terrific, getting to flex their comedy muscles. But the main quartet were basically all unknown, and they imbued each member with deep sadness – that manifests itself in different ways – and solid identities, even though their lives are constantly in flux. Like the show itself, a real miracle.

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