What I Watched This Week: 6 Sep 2020

NEW SHOWS
The Boys – “Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men” (A)
A deeply fucked-up hour-plus, as some characters get a brief moment of tenderness before having the rug pulled out from under them again. Few, if any, comic book adaptations have this level of character depth.

CURRENT SHOWS
The Boys
“The Big Ride” (B+) / season premiere
“Proper Preparation and Planning” (A-)
“Nothing Like It in the World” (A)
The first two episodes feel like table-setting, but by the third episode, it’s even more gleefully depraved and cynical than its darkly satirical first season. I think this show is going to take the leap.

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What I Watched This Week: 30 Aug 2020

REWATCH
The Simpsons – Season 5 (A- average)
Fewer absolute classics this season, but still in the middle of the show’s prime. “Cape Feare” remains the show’s best Sideshow Bob episode.

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Streaming Picks: September 2020

FILMS
Top Picks
The Bank Job – Hulu and Prime 9/1
I’m Thinking of Ending Things – Netflix 9/4
If you haven’t seen Roger Donaldson’s excellent heist movie, it’s a hidden gem. And it’s a bit smarter than your typical Jason Statham movie. To say much more would give away its many delicious secrets.

Charlie Kaufman hasn’t made a live-action movie in more than a decade. Creatively bankrupt studios just don’t want to give him modest sums of money for his distinctly bizarre tales. Enter Netflix, who was willing to pony up the cash for his adaptation of Iain Reid’s novel about a strained couple’s trip to meet the man’s parents, and all the unsettling things that happen along the way.

Recent Selections
1/1 – Prime 9/1
1 Million Happy Nows – Prime 9/1
Abe & Phil’s Last Poker Game – Prime 9/1
Bachelor Lions – Prime 9/1
Bitter Melon – Prime 9/1
Bully – Prime 9/1
The Dunning Man – Prime 9/1
Eaten by Lions – Prime 9/1
Enemy Within – Prime 9/1
The Festival – Prime 9/1
The Go-Getters – Prime 9/1
I’d Like to Be Alone Now – Prime 9/1
I’m Not Here – Prime 9/1
The Ring Thing – Prime 9/1
Snapshots – Prime 9/1
To Keep the Light – Prime 9/1
The Turkey Bowl – Prime 9/1
What Children Do – Prime 9/1
What If It Works? – Prime 9/1
Hell on the Border – Hulu and Prime 9/2
The Lost Okoroshi – Netflix 9/4
Awoken – Hulu 9/6
Blackbird – Prime 9/16
Babyteeth – Hulu 9/18
The Fight – Hulu 9/18
Gemini Man – Hulu and Prime 9/18
StarDog and TurboCat – Hulu 9/18
The Haunted – Hulu 9/20
The Addams Family – Hulu and Prime 9/22
Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans – Hulu 9/24
Judy – Hulu and Prime 9/25
Forces of Nature – Prime 9/28
Inherit the Viper – Hulu and Prime 9/28
Trauma Center – Hulu and Prime 9/29
Welcome to Sudden Death – Netflix 9/29

Originals
La Partita – Netflix 9/1
Freaks: You’re One of Us – Netflix 9/2
Love, Guaranteed – Netflix 9/3
Dino Dana: The Movie – Prime 9/4
So Much Love to Give – Netflix 9/9
Mignonnes – Netflix 9/9
The Babysitter: Killer Queen – Netflix 9/10
Se busca papa – Netflix 9/11
The Devil All the Time – Netflix 9/16
The Paramedic – Netflix 9/16
All In: The Fight for Democracy – Prime 9/18
Enola Holmes – Netflix 9/23
The Glorias – Prime 9/30

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What I Watched This Week: 23 Aug 2020

CURRENT SHOWS & SPECIALS
Middleditch & Schwartz (A average)
Some of the most deeply inspired lunacy I’ve ever seen on screen. Thomas Middleditch (Silicon Valley) and Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation) join forces to make long-form improv. There are a million ways this could have gone wrong, but they make it work beautifully. Netflix should make this an annual event.

BINGEING
Fargo – Season 3 (A- average)
Started off slow, paling in comparison to the previous two installments. But it morphed into a season-long meditation on pessimism vs. optimism. That last shot is critical, but I’m choosing pessimism.

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What I Watched This Week: 16 Aug 2020

BINGEING
Jonny Quest – Season 1 (B)
Only occasionally as fun as I remembered it, and a lot more racist than I remembered it. But when it’s at it’s best, it’s exhilarating, and I was a kid again.

The Singing Detective (A- average)
Starts as a clever riff on pulp novels, and ends up as a profound meditation on grief, loss and the way your memory plays tricks on you.

CURRENT SHOWS & SPECIALS
Marc Maron: End Times Fun (B+)
What’s special about Maron as a stand-up is when he goes off on a tangent that only makes sense to him until the end when he ties it back together. This special also captured the wavering between anxiety and the “fuck it all” feeling that’s so common in Trump’s America.

Patton Oswalt: I Love Everything (B)
Solid, but nothing spectacular. Patton is as lovable as always, but this isn’t his top shelf material.

Tom Papa: You’re Doing Great (A-)
Despite being filmed in 2019, really feels like it has the energy of 2020: Claiming small victories, knowing your limitations and celebrating just being alive for one more day.

REWATCH
The Simpsons – Season 4 (A average)
The show’s first truly amazing season, with “Whacking Day” as the only episode not on par with the rest of the season.

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What I Watched This Week: 9 Aug 2020

NEW SHOWS
Perry Mason – “Chapter Eight” (B+) / season finale
Checks all the boxes it needs to, with a post-script that sets up what should be an improved Season 2. But I’ll be thinking about that final scene with Matthew Rhys and Tatiana Maslany for a long time.

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What I Watched This Week: 2 Aug 2020

NEW SHOWS
Perry Mason – “Chapter Seven” (A)
The best episode yet with a thrilling climax. Mason’s quick transformation from hacking neophyte to experienced attorney is a little shocking, but his scene with Pete proves it’s not just a put-on.

BINGEING
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (B+ average)
Though its attempts to weave in the life story of the book’s author don’t always work, this is a strong true crime doc series that emphasizes what the book didn’t quite: This monster could have been caught sooner if police departments had worked together instead of posturing and blaming other PDs.

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What I Watched This Week: 26 Jul 2020

NEW SHOWS
Perry Mason – “Chapter Six” (A-)
The show’s best episode yet, with dramatic reveals and a new ally. Matthew Rhys and Juliet Rylance continue to be terrific.

Muppets Now – “Due Date” (B-) / series premiere
Certainly cute, but not nearly as clever as past TV iterations of the Muppets.

REWATCH
The Simpsons – Season 3 (A- average)
The show achieves its peak form, with gorgeous animation, stellar jokes, and richly rewarding stories.

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Streaming Picks: August 2020

FILMS
Top Picks
’71 – Hulu 8/1
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – Netflix 8/1
Inception – Prime 8/1
One of my favorite quarantine watches thus far was ’71, a harrowing thriller about a British officer left behind after a riot breaks out in Belfast. It’s an incredible experience.

And the other two are Oscar-winning, mind-bending experiences. The former is one of my all-time favorite movies, a devastating, funny and extremely clever look at doomed love. The latter is Christopher Nolan’s awe-inspiring blockbuster that still inspires debate a decade later.

Recent Selections
Rogue Warfare: The Hunt – Netflix 8/1
Dora and the Lost City of Gold – Hulu and Prime 8/3
Ordinary Love – Hulu 8/3
Arkansas – Prime 8/5
The Peanut Butter Falcon – Hulu and Prime 8/6
Slay the Dragon – Hulu 8/6
We Summon the Darkness – Netflix 8/8
Capone – Prime 8/10
Hard Night Falling – Hulu and Prime 8/10
Lucky Day – Hulu and Prime 8/10
Bernie the Dolphin 2 – Hulu and Prime 8/14
Behind You – Hulu 8/16
Daffodils – Hulu 8/20
Good Kisser – Netflix 8/20
The Legion – Prime 8/22
1BR – Netflix 8/23
The Roads Not Taken – Hulu 8/24
The Bridge Curse – Netflix 8/27
Primal – Hulu and Prime 8/31
The Courier – Hulu and Prime 8/31

Originals
Anelka: Misunderstood – Netflix 8/5
Berlin, Berlin: Lolle on the Run – Netflix 8/7
Work It – Netflix 8/7
Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl – Netflix 8/12
An Easy Girl – Netflix 8/13
Fearless – Netflix 8/14
Octonauts & the Caves of Sac Actun – Netflix 8/14
Project Power – Netflix 8/14
Crazy Awesome Teachers – Netflix 8/17
Crimenes de Familia – Netflix 8/19
John Was Trying to Contact Aliens – Netflix 8/20
Chemical Hearts – Prime 8/21
Fuego negro – Netflix 8/21
The Sleepover – Netflix 8/21
Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol – Netflix 8/26
Rising Phoenix – Netflix 8/26
The Binge – Hulu 8/28
Unknown Origins – Netflix 8/28

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2020 Emmy Picks: Limited Series and TV Movies

With virtually all FYC events canceled and almost all productions halted, voters theoretically have had a lot more time to see more shows. And with new rules regarding the number of nominees in each category (which I still don’t fully understand), there’s the possibility of newcomers and frequently overlooked performers will finally get the attention they deserve. So here’s what I think will be nominated this year.

The masked cast of Watchmen
LIMITED SERIES
Hollywood (Netflix)
Mrs. America (Hulu)
The Plot Against America (HBO)
Unbelievable (Netflix)
Watchmen (HBO)

Potential surprises:
Defending Jacob (AppleTV+)
I Know This Much Is True (HBO)
Little Fires Everywhere (Hulu)
The Loudest Voice (Showtime)
Normal People (Hulu)

In my dreams: Briarpatch (USA)

The skinny: There were plenty of worthy limited series this past year (though not enough to have more than five nominees, but that’s another story). But this everyone who’s not Damon Lindelof should be happy just to be nominated. It’s too bad my beloved Briarpatch won’t be one of them.

Hugh Jackman in Bad Education
TV MOVIE
American Son (Netflix)
Bad Education (HBO)
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (Netflix)
Transparent Musicale Finale (Prime)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend (Netflix)

Potential surprises:
Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings: These Old Bones (Netflix)
Patsy and Loretta (Lifetime)
Togo (Disney+)

In my dreams: Into the Dark: Culture Shock (Hulu)

The skinny: A lot of epilogues to previous Emmy nominated shows here, plus one adaptation of a Broadway play and a movie that actually played at TIFF last year and was destined for theaters, but HBO won the bidding war so it’s technically a TV movie. It’s also the best of the bunch.

Mark Ruffalo in I Know This Much Is True
ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Russell Crowe, The Loudest Voice
Chris Evans, Defending Jacob
Jeremy Irons, Watchmen
Hugh Jackman, Bad Education
Aaron Paul, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True

Potential surprises:
Sacha Baron Cohen, The Spy
Matthew Macfadyen, Quiz
Paul Mescal, Normal People
Jeremy Pope, Hollywood

In my dreams: Nick Offerman, Devs

The skinny: A truly impressive line-up of Oscar winners and nominees, plus one of the biggest movie stars in the world. But Ruffalo has this locked up.

Regina King in Watchmen
ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America
Kaitlyn Dever, Unbelievable
Regina King, Watchmen
Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere
Merritt Wever, Unbelievable
Reese Witherspoon, Little Fires Everywhere

Potential surprises:
Michelle Dockery, Defending Jacob
Daisy Edgar-Jones, Normal People
Shira Haas, Unorthodox
Kathryn Hahn, Mrs. Fletcher
Zoe Kazan, The Plot Against America
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend
Helen Mirren, Catherine the Great
Amy Poehler, A Parks and Recreation Special
Octavia Spencer, Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker
Kerry Washington, American Son

In my dreams: Rosario Dawson, Briarpatch

The skinny: A lot of huge names duking it out for a finite number of spots (and I suppose it’s possible we get 7-8 here, thus increasing the number of nominees in the Lead Actor category… I think), but this is a two-person race between Regina King and Cate Blanchett. Both are giving the best performances on TV and anchored their sprawling series. I give King the slimmest of leads right now.

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