BINGEING
What We Do in the Shadows – Season 2 (A- average)
Even better than its hilarious first season, featuring several of my biggest laughs of the year so far.
Categories
Archives
My Work
Links
What I Watched This Week: 14 Jun 2020
Posted in Reviews, Television
Tagged hulu, what we do in the shadows
Comments Off on What I Watched This Week: 14 Jun 2020
Streaming Picks: June 2020
FILMS
Top Picks
Shirley – Hulu 6/5
First up is Neon’s Sundance hit, with another great performance from Elisabeth Moss. She plays horror author Shirley Jackson (“The Lottery,” “The Haunting”) in this fictional take on her life, one that’s a scarier than the real thing. Between this and The Invisible Man, look for Moss to be a real threat come awards season.
Da 5 Bloods – Netflix 6/12
Spike Lee rides his latest comeback (which included a long overdue Oscar win) with this Vietnam story about a mostly black platoon and their return to the country decades later in search of buried treasure. Easily the movie I’ve been most excited for so far in 2020.
Knives Out – Prime 6/12
One of last year’s very best movies (and biggest hits) hits streaming, where your conservative family members can finally see the roasting they deserve, all while enjoying themselves with a compelling mystery.
Recent Selections
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood – Hulu 6/2
Miss Snake Charmer – Hulu 6/4
Intrigo: Dear Agnes – Hulu 6/5
The Appearance – Hulu 6/6
Intrigo: Samaria – Hulu 6/12
Child’s Play – Hulu and Prime 6/12
Milea – Netflix 6/13
Dustwalker – Hulu 6/15
Crawl – Hulu and Prime 6/18
Goldie – Netflix 6/19
Straight Up – Netflix 6/26
Clemency – Hulu 6/22
Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band – Hulu 6/25
Charlie’s Angels – Hulu 6/25
Guns Akimbo – Prime 6/27
Carrion – Hulu 6/29
The Gallows, Act II – Hulu and Prime 6/30
Originals
Spelling the Dream – Netflix 6/3
The Last Days of American Crime – Netflix 6/5
We Are Freestyle Supreme – Hulu 6/5
A Whisker Away – Netflix 6/18
7500 – Prime 6/19
Father Soldier Son – Netflix 6/19
Feel the Beat – Netflix 6/19
Lost Bullet – Netflix 6/19
One Way to Tomorrow – Netflix 6/19
Wasp Network – Netflix 6/19
Athlete A – Netflix 6/24
Nobody Knows I’m Here – Netflix 6/24
Home Game – Netflix 6/26
Adú – Netflix 6/30
One Take – Netflix TBD
Posted in Film, Previews, Television
Tagged 13 reasons why, 7500, adu, alexa and katie, alone, amar y vivir, amazon, appearance, athlete a, babies, baki, band, beautiful day in the neighborhood, bna, brockmire, can you hear me, cardcaptor sakura, carrion, charlie's angels, child's play, children's hospital, chucky, clemency, cocomelon, crawl, crazy delicious, crossing swords, curon, da 5 bloods, dating around, dustwalker, eric andre, eurovision song contest, f is for family, father soldier son, feel the beat, floor is lava, fuller house, gallows, garth brooks, george lopez, gina brillon, girls from ipanema, goldie, guns akimbo, hannibal, hasan minhaj, haves and the have nots, home game, how to get away with murder, hulu, into the dark, intrigo, it's okay to not be okay, kipo and the age of wonderbeasts, knives out, last days of american crime, legends of tomorrow, lenox hill, life in pieces, lost bullet, love victor, marcella, mike tyson mysteries, milea, miss snake charmer, mr iglesias, my absolute boyfriend, my mister, netflix, nobody knows i'm here, once were brothers, one piece, one take, one way to tomorrow, order, padma lakshmi, patriot act, Pete the cat, pokemon, politician, pose, prime, queen of the south, queer eye, radiant, reality z, roswell new mexico, search, shirley, spelling the dream, straight up, taste the nation, true, wasp network, we are freestyle supreme, where's waldo, whisker away, woods
Comments Off on Streaming Picks: June 2020
What I Watched This Week: 17 May 2020
NEW SHOWS
Community – “Cooperative Polygraphy: Live Table Read” (A)
Everything I wanted from the Parks and Rec special I got here. A joyful, hilarious reunion that uses one of the show’s all-time best scripts into a seamless recreation, with plenty of in-the-moment jokes and commentary to make it feel organic. Now we just need that movie.
Mrs. America – “Houston” (A-)
A trippy episode wonderfully directed by Janicza Bravo puts the spotlight on Alice (Sarah Paulson), a composite character who has a change of heart after taking drugs at the National Women’s Convention, realizing the STOP ERA movement she’s a part of has gone too far, becoming anti-woman, anti-education, bigoted and stubborn. It comes a little too neatly, but this is one of the most fascinating hours of television of the year so far.
REWATCH
Terriers – Season 1 (A average)
Essentially a perfect season of television, and arguably the best show canceled after one season. A compelling mystery with richly drawn characters in a series that was equal parts tragic and comic.
Posted in Reviews, Television
Tagged community, hulu, mrs america, terriers
Comments Off on What I Watched This Week: 17 May 2020
The List: Top 10 Summer Blockbusters
With no new summer movies on the horizon until at least July (if then), I decided to take a look back on my favorite blockbusters. Certainly, there are better movies to choose in some cases (including superior sequels), but I wanted to represent a decent swath of blockbusters, especially since they seem to have homogenized. I’m limiting this to movies from 2000 on, since that’s when I started really seeing movies. I also limited this to movies I saw in theaters during their initial release. I wanted to capture that feeling when you walk out of the air-conditioned theater into the hot sun and you’re exhilarated because you’ve just seen something awesome.
Spider-Man (2002, Sam Raimi)
While X-Men was an excellent warm-up for the comic book-obsessed era to follow, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man was the first great comic book movie of the century. A great blend of CGI and practical effects, with a semi-grounded story and cheesy moments that leapt off the page. This was everything 14-year-old me wanted. Its sequel was even better.
The Dark Knight (2008, Christopher Nolan)
“And here… we… go!” A record-breaking event that dominated the back half of the summer, Christopher Nolan’s second Batman film upped the ante. Unfortunately, fans and filmmakers took all the wrong lessons from it. But few things compare to that midnight screening – interruptions and all – and talking about it in the parking lot in the wee hours of the morning.
Inglourious Basterds (2009, Quentin Tarantino)
Hard to believe now, but there was a time when Tarantino was still something of a niche director. That all changed with Inglourious Basterds, which obliterated the competition in a mostly weak summer. I saw it three times, the first of which was part of an epic all-night birthday celebration. A film that’s mostly not in English earning $321 million worldwide and eight Oscar nominations? “That’s a bingo!”
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (2011, David Yates)
The last midnight screening I ever went to (and with good reason; I had to work the next day and was exhausted my whole shift). David Yates’ epic finale of the Harry Potter saga was appropriately mega-sized and featured a heartbreaking turn from Alan Rickman. And if it weren’t for that embarrassing coda and one of the worst kisses in blockbuster history, it would be perfect.
Posted in Best Of, Film
Tagged avengers, dark knight, harry potter, inglourious basterds, inside out, mad max, mission impossible, prometheus, snowpiercer, spider-man, spiderman
Comments Off on The List: Top 10 Summer Blockbusters
Every Episode of Community, Ranked in Tiers
I recently finished a rewatch of Community on Netflix, and figured I’d try something new. I’ll rank every episode, but in tiers. (Ranking each one 1-110 would take too long, and I’ve already done a top 10 list.)
Some rules: Really, nothing after Season 3 can truly be considered “Classic,” except for one Season 5 episode (which was recently the subject of a stellar virtual table read). Even though I like some of these later episodes (and put them in my top 10), those are personal favorites, and they really can’t compare with those first three seasons. Overall, most of the show is strong. The only bad episodes belong to Season 4, and even the weakest episodes from other seasons have some good or interesting things in them.
So here are my rankings. Disagree away!
CLASSIC TIER
Season 1
“Comparative Religion”
“Contemporary American Poultry”
“Modern Warfare”
Season 2
“Accounting for Lawyers”
“Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples”
“Epidemiology”
“Cooperative Calligraphy”
“Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design”
“Mixology Certification”
“Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas”
“Advanced Dungeons & Dragons”
“Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking”
“Paradigms of Human Memory”
“A Fistful of Paintballs”
“For a Few Paintballs More”
Season 3
“Remedial Chaos Theory”
“Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps”
“Documentary Filmmaking: Redux”
“Regional Holiday Music”
“Digital Exploration of Interior Design”
“Pillows and Blankets”
“Basic Lupine Urology”
Season 4
N/A
Season 5
“Cooperative Polygraphy”
Season 6
N/A
EXCELLENT TIER
Season 1
“Introduction to Statistics”
“Investigative Journalism”
“Physical Education”
“The Art of Discourse”
“English as a Second Language”
Season 2
“Anthropology 101”
“The Psychology of Letting Go”
“Aerodynamics of Gender”
“Early 21st Century Romanticism”
“Custody Law and Eastern European Diplomacy”
“Critical Film Studies”
Season 3
“Origins of Vampire Mythology”
“Curriculum Unavailable”
“The First Chang Dynasty”
“Introduction to Finality”
Season 4
“Paranormal Parentage”
“Advanced Documentary Filmmaking”
“Herstory of Dance”
“Basic Human Anatomy”
“Heroic Origins”
Season 5
“Basic Intergluteal Numismatics”
“VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing”
“Bondage and Beta Male Sexuality”
“Advanced Advanced Dungeons & Dragons”
“Basic Story”
Season 6
“Basic Crisis Room Decorum”
“Queer Studies and Advanced Waxing”
“Basic Email Security”
“Grifting 101”
“Modern Espionage”
“Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television”
Posted in Best Of, Television
Tagged community
Comments Off on Every Episode of Community, Ranked in Tiers
What I Watched This Week: 10 May 2020
NEW SHOWS
Mrs. America – “Bella” (A)
By focusing on Bella Abzug (Margo Martindale), the show hones in on the dangers of compromise. Often times compromise can be beneficial. But make too many concessions and your movement gets watered down and robbed of its power. It also reveals the trap for progressive causes: Try to move more toward the center, and the right will keep pushing further right, and often win.
REWATCH
Community – Season 6 (B+ average)
The longer runtimes gave the writers license to explore bits that were funnier in brief. Still, this was an excellent final season that integrated two new characters well, giving them their own personalities. Now if we could just get that movie.
Posted in Reviews, Television
Tagged community, hulu, mrs america, netflix
Comments Off on What I Watched This Week: 10 May 2020