What I Watched This Week: 31 Oct 2021

NEW SHOWS
Succession – “The Disruption” (A)
Shiv, understandably, goes scorched earth on Kendall. But as always, all their outsized reactions are based on internal emotional wounds. That the show can execute this perfectly, and also have a big FBI raid and a disastrous late-night talk show simultaneously, is why it’s the best thing on TV right now.

Curb Your Enthusiasm – “Angel Muffin” (B+)
The plotting, such as it is, is classic Curb. Though once again it feels like two separate stories smushed together. Still, when things are this funny, it doesn’t much matter.

BINGEING
Seinfeld – Season 2 (A- average)
While it still hasn’t fully incorporated Kramer into the ensemble, the show already knows exactly what it is, delivering the perfect dissection of everyday minutiae it’s so known for.

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Streaming Picks: November 2021

FILMS
Top Picks
Rushmore – Prime 11/1
Passing – Netflix 11/10
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – Disney+ 11/12
The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain – HBO Max 11/19
I’ve been wanting to revisit some of Wes Anderson’s work now that The French Dispatch has finally come out. Rushmore (filmed in Texas!) might actually be my favorite, featuring dynamite performances from Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray.

Passing is one of Netflix’s big awards contenders. Based on the classic novella, Rebecca Hall makes her directorial debut. Advance word is that Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga are giving their best performances to date.

If you somehow missed the biggest movie of 2021, Disney+ is dropping it a little early for their made-up “Disney+ Day.” While the big finale is typical CGI nonsense, the rest of the movie is quite clever and fun. Plus, when you’ve got Tony Leung and Ben Kingsley, it’s hard to go wrong.

Finally, if you’re up for it, The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain is harrowing, vital viewing. Based on an actual police killing, this isn’t an easy watch, but extremely well-done.

Recent Selections
The 90 Day Plan – HBO Max 11/1
Area Chica Infierno Grande – HBO Max 11/1
Casanova, Last Love – Prime 11/1
Gather – Netflix 11/1
Montford: The Chickasaw Rancher – Netflix 11/1
Monuments – Hulu 11/1
Tagged – Netflix 11/1
Prospect – Hulu 11/2
Single Mother by Choice – HBO Max 11/2
Son of Monarchs – HBO Max 11/2
This Is Not a War Story – HBO Max 11/3
Las Niñas – HBO Max 11/5
Land – HBO Max 11/6
A Cinderella Story: Starstruck – HBO Max 11/12
Finding You – Prime 11/12
Jungle Cruise – Disney+ 11/12
Boogie – HBO Max 11/13
The Boss Baby: Family Business – Hulu 11/15
Mandibles – Hulu 11/18
Ape Star – Hulu 11/23
Becoming Cousteau – Disney+ 11/24
Ride the Eagle – Hulu 11/25
Pig – Hulu 11/26
All Light, Everywhere – Hulu 11/29
Coming Home in the Dark – Netflix 11/30
8-Bit Christmas – HBO Max TBD
A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks – HBO Max TBD

Originals
The Claus Family – Netflix 11/1
The Harder They Fall – Netflix 11/3
A Cop Movie – Netflix 11/5
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain – Prime 11/5
Love Hard – Netflix 11/5
Meenakshi Sundareshwar – Netflix 11/5
We Couldn’t Become Adults – Netflix 11/5
Yara – Netflix 11/5
Zero to Hero – Netflix 11/5
Father Christmas Is Back – Netflix 11/7
Red Notice – Netflix 11/11
Home Sweet Home Alone – Disney+ 11/12
Mayor Pete – Prime 11/12
Prayers for the Stolen – Netflix 11/17
The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star – Netflix 11/18
Dhamaka – Netflix 11/19
King Richard – HBO Max 11/19
Love Me Instead – Netflix 11/19
tick, tick… BOOM! – Netflix 11/19
Outlaws – Netflix 11/22
A Boy Called Christmas – Netflix 11/24
Bruised – Netflix 11/24
La Pasión de Maradona – HBO Max 11/25
Anni da cane – Prime 11/26
A Castle for Christmas – Netflix 11/26
Green Snake – Netflix 11/26
Spoiled Brats – Netflix 11/26
Burning – Prime 11/29
More the Merrier – Netflix 11/30
The Summit of Gods – Netflix 11/30

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What I Watched This Week: 24 Oct 2021

NEW SHOWS
Succession – “Mass in Time of War” (A-)
All the kids get together, diss each other, come close to revealing honest emotions, and then retreat to safety. Kendall’s speechifying about the moral imperative to join his side is a masterclass in bullshitting.

Curb Your Enthusiasm – “The Five-Foot Fence” (A-) / season premiere
As film critic Sean Fennessey tweeted, adding Albert Brooks to this ensemble is like putting KD on the Warriors. He’s just unreal, even though he’s somehow never appeared as a frenemy of Larry before. I still think the show needs to cut it closer to 28 minutes than pushing it to 45, but it’s still very funny.

What We Do in the Shadows – “The Portrait” (A-) / season finale
At first it seemed like this was written as a series finale, and I would have been OK with that (even though I know it’s already been renewed for a fourth season). But then a lot of crazy shit happened in the last two minutes, and I’m so excited to see where this show goes next, because it has so many possibilities.

OLD SHOWS
The Twilight Zone (Season 1) – “The Hitch-Hiker” (B+)
Appropriately spooky, even if I knew where it was going from the first line of dialogue. A similar premise was done much better in Season 3’s “Nothing in the Dark.”

BINGEING
The X-Files – Season 7 (B average)
Easily the weakest season of the show, with a checked-out David Duchovny and the series’ nadir (“First Person Shooter”). Still, there were some bright spots and a jaw-dropping finale.

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What I Watched This Week: 17 Oct 2021

CURRENT SHOWS
Succession – “Secession” (A) / season premiere
An absolutely breathless premiere, with everyone’s worst instincts on display. It was absolutely delicious.

What We Do in the Shadows – “A Farewell” (A)
This episode features another great gaggle of guest stars, but the show actually reveals it has an emotional core, in addition to all its dick and fart jokes.

CURRENT SHOWS
The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror XXXII” (B-)
A hit-or-miss affair as usual, but I didn’t mind the two shorter segments squeezed into here. While the Parasite parody left a little to be desired (it was mostly just jokes about “This is about class warfare, don’t you see?!”), the updated take on The Ring was terrific. A TikTok that kills people should have been dreadful, but it really worked, if not like a classic Halloween tale, then at least a good one from the double-digit years.

What We Do in the Shadows
“The Siren” (B+)
“The Wellness Center” (A)
The former featured some hilarious voicework from Natasia Demetriou, but it was a little repetitive coming right on the heels of “The Escape.” The latter was much sharper, with Nandor joining a vampire cult that denies their bloodlust in favor of ’80s-centric fitness.

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What I Watched This Week: 3 Oct 2021

NEW SHOWS
Ted Lasso – “Inventing the Pyramid of Success” (A-) / season finale
After a season that occasionally meandered, it ends on a mostly hopeful note. There were some things that still didn’t work about this season as a whole, but this was a very satisfying wrap-up with lots of great moments, including Dani’s penalty kick, Sam Richardson throwing one of the all-time great TV tantrums, and Roy’s induction into the Diamond Dogs.

BINGEING
Seinfeld – Season 1 (B+ average) 
For obvious reasons, it’s the least-watched and least-revisited season. But it’s still amazing how quickly the show found its rhythm, eventually becoming one of the greatest things ever broadcast.

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What I Watched This Week: 26 Sep 2021

NEW SHOWS
What We Do in the Shadows – “The Escape” (A-)
This episode has it all: cocky Guillermo, sassy gargoyles and impeccable stunt work. (And also, hopefully, a set-up for a spin-off.)

Ted Lasso – “Midnight Train to Royston” (B)
Scene to scene, it’s wonderful. But as a whole, it feels overstuffed, and some plots feel like unnecessary tension tossed in to add more stakes to next week’s finale.

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Streaming Picks: October 2021

FILMS
Top Picks
Clifford – Hulu 10/1
Raising Arizona – Prime 10/1
Black Widow – Disney+ 10/6
In the Heights – HBO Max 10/28
No, that first pick isn’t Clifford the Big Red Dog. That’s( slated to hit theaters and Paramount+ in November.) This is the cult classic starring Martin Short as a 10-year-old boy (yes, really), who relentlessly tortures his uncle (Charles Grodin) after breaking a promise to him. It’s pretty insane, especially for a PG-rated film, but it provides a lot of laughs, provided you’re on its wavelength.

It’s almost impossible to pick one, but if you ask me today, I’d say Raising Arizona is still my favorite Coen Brothers movie. All of their touchstones – schmucks pulling a scheme, absurd characters, gorgeous cinematography – are present here, in just their second film. It’s might be a top 5 comedy for me, too.

And if you missed your chance to see Black Widow or In the Heights when they were in theaters or previously on the service ($30 for the former, and free for the latter), you can now watch them in perpetuity, or at least until rights issues cause them to leave again.

Recent Selections
Culpa – HBO Max 10/1
Downhill – HBO Max 10/1
Emma. – HBO Max 10/1
Entre Nos: The Winners 2 – HBO Max 10/1
Entre Nos: What She Said – HBO Max 10/1
Just Mercy – HBO Max 10/1
LEGO DC Shazam: Magic and Monsters! – HBO Max 10/1
Macho: The Hector Camacho Story – Prime 10/1
Never Rarely Sometimes Always – HBO Max 10/1
The Quarry – HBO Max 10/1
Raul Julia: The World’s a Stage – Prime 10/1
Sherlock Holmes and the Great Escape – HBO Max 10/1
Strange but True – HBO Max 10/1
Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans – HBO Max 10/1
Wendy – HBO Max 10/1
Simmer – HBO Max 10/3
Sublet – HBO Max 10/3
El Verano Que Vivimos – HBO Max 10/5
Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things – Netflix 10/6
Cannabis Evolution – Hulu 10/8
Lansky – Prime 10/8
LOL Surprise: The Movie – Netflix 10/8
Voyagers – HBO Max 10/8
Rogue Hostage – Hulu 10/10
It: Chapter Two – HBO Max 10/10
Gunda – Hulu 10/11
Madonna and the Breakfast Club – Hulu 10/11
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It – Netflix 10/12
Violet Evergarden: The Movie – Netflix 10/13
Censor – Hulu 10/14
Out of Death – Hulu 10/14
Akilla’s Escape – Prime 10/15
Cheer Camp Killer – Hulu 10/15
A Murder to Remember – Hulu 10/15
Tu Me Manques – HBO Max 10/15
Dream Horse – Hulu 10/18
Women Is Losers – HBO Max 10/18
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It – HBO Max 10/21
The Evil Next Door – Hulu 10/21
Gaia – Hulu 10/22
The Marksman – Hulu 10/23
Silent Night – Hulu 10/23
Come Away – Hulu 10/25
Maybe Next Year – Hulu 10/26
For Madmen Only – Hulu 10/27
First Date – Hulu 10/28
Spirit Untamed – Hulu 10/31

Originals
Bingo Hell – Prime 10/1
Black as Night – Prime 10/1
Diana: The Musical – Netflix 10/1
Forever Rich – Netflix 10/1
The Guilty – Netflix 10/1
The Many Saints of Newark – HBO Max 10/1
My Name Is Pauli Murray – Prime 10/1
Swallow – Netflix 10/1
Upcoming Summer – Netflix 10/3
Escape the Undertaker – Netflix 10/5
There’s Someone Inside Your House – Netflix 10/6
Grudge/Kin – Netflix 10/8
Jacinta – Hulu 10/8
Justin Bieber: Our World – Prime 10/8
Madres – Prime 10/8
The Manor – Prime 10/8
My Brother, My Sister – Netflix 10/8
Fever Dream – Netflix 10/13
Hiacynt – Netflix 10/13
One Night in Paris – Netflix 10/14
The Forgotten Battle – Netflix 10/15
The Four of Us – Netflix 10/15
Karma’s World – Netflix 10/15
The Trip – Netflix 10/15
In for a Murder – Netflix 10/19
Night Teeth – Netflix 10/20
Stuck Together – Netflix 10/20
Dune – HBO Max 10/22
Little Big Mouth – Netflix 10/22
Hypnotic – Netflix 10/27
Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight, Part 2 – Netflix 10/27
Army of Thieves – Netflix 10/29
Dear Mother – Netflix 10/29

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Too Early for This: Oscar Picks – September 2021

BEST PICTURE
Belfast
CODA
Don’t Look Up
House of Gucci
The Humans
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
Nightmare Alley
The Power of the Dog
The Tragedy of Macbeth

The skinny: The Academy finally did the right thing and pushed the number of nominees in this category back to an even 10. Even with a shortened eligibility window (just March to December this year), there are a lot of studios seeking to make up for lost time. Even so, almost all of these will crowd up the last two months of the year. Belfast is the default front runner, since it just won People’s Choice at Toronto, but there’s a lot of race left to go.

BEST DIRECTOR
Leos Carax, Annette
Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
Guillermo del Toro, Nightmare Alley
Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
Joel Coen, The Tragedy of Macbeth

The skinny: While Annette is divisive and unlikely to be nominated for anything except Original Song, Carax is the front-runner for that “respected international director whose movie wasn’t as warmly received by the Academy at large” slot. Though if The Hero keeps getting the kind of rapturous praise that greeted A Separation and The Salesman, Asghar Farhadi could easily take it.

BEST ACTOR
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
Adam Driver, House of Gucci
Andrew Garfield, Tick Tick Boom
Will Smith, King Richard
Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth

The skinny: All of these guys have previously been nominated, but only Denzel has won. Only he and Smith are locks at this point, but this feels pretty comfortable given how it’s a typically “weak” year for the kinds of turns the Academy goes for.

BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Lady Gaga, House of Gucci
Jennifer Hudson, Respect
Frances McDormand, The Tragedy of Macbeth
Kristen Stewart, Spencer

The skinny: Are we clearing out for another take on a real-life person or for Frances McDormand to somehow win her fourth Oscar? It all comes down to the campaigns.

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What I Watched This Week: 19 Sep 2021

NEW SHOWS
Reservation Dogs – “Satvrday” (A-) / season finale
Slightly more traditional than their past three knockouts, but this was pretty much the perfect finale for this season, and I’m so grateful there will be more to that story.

What We Do in the Shadows – “The Chamber of Judgment” (B+)
Guillermo literally plays a game of thrones, playing Nandor and Nadja off one another. Meanwhile, Colin gets usurped as the No. 1 energy vampire thanks to a MLM pitch. Both storylines are funny, but nowhere near the heights of the last two episodes.

Ted Lasso – “No Weddings and a Funeral” (A)
For an episode that’s all about death, this episode is never a dirge. It’s razor-sharp, ties up a lot of the season together nicely and has a glorious moment of zero cynicism.

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What I Watched This Week: 12 Sep 2021

NEW SHOWS
Reservation Dogs – “California Dreamin’” (A-)
If Bill Burr shows up as a guest star, you know you’re in for a good episode. Mostly taking place about a year before the events of the season premiere, we finally learn what happened to Daniel, and the reveal is devastating. It puts everything into perspective, and explains so much about Elora’s character. This show continues to blow me away.

What We Do in the Shadows – “The Casino” (A)
The funniest episode of the season to date. The crew travels to Atlantic City – complete with depressing new opening credits – for a weekend getaway and end up succumbing to the soul-sucking mundanity of casinos.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine – “The Last Day” (A) / series finale
Had no idea what they were gonna do for this finale, but I should have suspected it would be one final heist. And it is glorious, earning its runtime and (nearly) every callback. The show stumbled this season, but when it just played the hits and avoided self-awareness, it was just as good as it always was. I’ll miss it, but it was time for it to go.

Ted Lasso – “Beard After Hours” (A)
If any other show wants to take a break mid-season to pay homage to one of Martin Scorsese’s most underrated movies, that’s fine with me.

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