October Movies Part 1: My Old Ass, Sing Sing, Wolfs, Saturday Night

So far, October has been a bit more promising on the TV front than movies. But there are still some options for you in the theater or on streaming so let's get to them!

My Old Ass: This is a genuinely wonderful movie that people should be watching in droves. It has flown a bit under the radar because it doesn't have any big-name stars attached apart from Aubrey Plaza, but it is a sweet, funny, and moving film. Written and directed by Megan Park, it tells the story of 18-year-old Elliott (the brilliant Maisy Stella), who is spending her last summer at home with her family on their idyllic cranberry farm before she leaves for university in the big city (Toronto!) and can finally begin her life. When she does shrooms with her best friends, she has a trip where she is visited by her 39-year-old future self (played by Aubrey Plaza). Future Elliott has some good advice, mostly around cherishing this time she has left with her family, and to not be so desperate to grow up. But there is also some more cryptic advice that you will spend the rest of the film worrying about until the surprising conclusion. 

This is one of those films where you shouldn't pay too much attention to the science fiction implications of time travel: future Elliott puts her number into present Elliott's phone as "My Old Ass" and the two of them are still able to communicate after she is done tripping - don't think about that too hard. Instead, just go along for the splendid ride to experience a beautiful story about living in the present and not worrying too much about the ramification of your choices. Also, Elliott is unapologetically gay and has a great support system, so this is a great movie for queer kids and other folk who would like to just enjoy the fantasy of seeing a gay kid live their life without too much drama. This is a gem of a film and while it seems too small to get much recognition at awards season, I do dearly hope it might get a nod for Park's screenwriting or Stella's lead performance. Everyone, please run to the theater and watch it immediately.

Sing Sing: Speaking of powerful lead performances, it should come as no surprise that Colman Domingo is great in this film. Directed by Greg Kwedar, who co-wrote the screenplay with Clint Bentley, this is the story of the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) program at Sing Sing prison in upstate New York. This program has been running for almost 30 years, and the focus of this film is on  John "Divine G" Whitfield (Domingo), a prisoner who joined RTA and became a playwright and director, while he also fought his wrongful conviction and tried to secure his release. Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin also co-stars as himself, and we get to see how Divine G scouted him to join the RTA program, gradually molding him to become a star actor in the program, after overcoming his initial skepticism.

This is a film about the transformative power of the arts and the important work RTA does to get these prisoners to process their emotions and learn new ways to express themselves instead of the old standbys of anger and violence. Sing Sing is a maximum security prison, and many of these men are serving life sentences with little or no hope. But participating in RTA gives them joy and a new purpose in life. I listened to a podcast with Maclin and it's wonderful to hear this man, who had such a rough start in life and was sentenced to 17 years in Sing Sing for robbery, speak about what this program did for him and how he is now taking the work forward by helping prisoners and at-risk youth with these skills. I can't say that I always found this movie engaging, but the actors (most of whom are actual RTA alumnae) are captivating and the story they are telling is compelling and important. And the final scenes when you get to see some of the real-life plays that RTA put on through the years is enough to make you believe in humanity after all.

Wolfs: Oof. Written and direct by Jon Watts, and starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt, you would have thought this movie would be great. But it's an Apple TV+ production and is "aggressively mid" as I once heard NPR's Linda Holmes describe a lot of their catalogue. Clooney and Pitt are playing "fixers" who get called into a Manhattan District Attorney's hotel room when she accidentally finds herself with a dead body and doesn't know what to do next. She called Clooney, while Pitt was called in by the hotel owner, and now these two lone wolves must work together to clean up the situation. Which leads to a wild night across New York City as they unravel the plot of how this "dead" man ended up in that hotel room, and other tangled conspiracies that ultimately relate to who they work for in the first place. 

Honestly, I cannot tell you much more beyond that, because I barely understood this convoluted plot, the cinematography was so dark I could barely see any of the action, and apart from the very end, in a diner scene, when it felt like I could finally see Clooney's facial expressions and be reminded me of why he's such a great actor, I was thoroughly bored. I was expecting the two leads to recapture the old Ocean's Eleven magic, but their banter felt forced, and every line of dialogue just fell flat. Pitt also seems to be an increasingly sketchy public figure who needs to account for his terrible behavior towards Angelina Jolie and their children, and while he ordinarily whitewashes his reputation by producing excellent movies, this movie is such a dud that his luck has run out. So don't bother watching this film, and let's just all band together for a Pitt boycott instead. That would be a much more worthy use of our time.  

Saturday Night: Directed by Jason Reitman, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Gil Kenan, this is a movie about the 90 minutes preceding the airing of the very first episode of Saturday Night Live in 1975. As we swoop through the studio and Rockefeller Center, following creator Lorne Michaels (played by Gabriel LaBelle) around as he deals with recalcitrant actors, peeved writers, a righteous censor, eager comedians, doubtful studio executives, and...a llama, it's an absolute whirlwind of chaos. As someone who watches SNL every week and is a fan of the many iconic comedians and characters that got their start on this show, this movie is a veritable who's who of famous names. But it felt like watching The Bear, an anxiety-provoking hellscape where you just want to be like "man, is this even worth it." And oddly, it also felt like watching Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, where everyone's laughing at the supposedly hilarious sketches, while I just sat there thinking, "huh, this doesn't seem that funny." 

Obviously, SNL is an institution, and that first episode WAS really funny and led to this show still being on the air 50 (!) years later. But this movie is such a hagiography, such a self-aggrandizing piece of "yeah, it's us against the establishment, man!" that it's a bit hard to swallow, given that SNL now IS the establishment. The movie is trying to convey how this scrappy little show was going up against the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, with all these counter-culture comedians that no one had heard of, and it was so risqué and daring. But in the cold, hard light of 2024, it no longer feels fresh or innovative, a lot of the jokes feel sexist and tired, and apart from Lamorne Morris's delightful turn as the lone Black cast member, Garrett Morris, this just feels like a sea of white people patting themselves on the back for sticking to their guns. I really did want to like this movie, and while I do think it's a technical marvel with the way it conveys all the frantic energy and endless fires (figurative and literal!) that Lorne has to put out until this show can finally go live, it ultimately didn't seem to have anything new or exciting to say. Which is probably what most people say about SNL these days.

Fall Binges Part 1: How to Die Alone, Ludwig, Nobody Wants This

It's getting colder and it's time to spend more time on the couch bingeing TV (OK fine, I do that regardless of the weather). Over the past month I have been making my way through some quality fare, so if you've missed out on the following shows, might I suggest you get all caught up?

How to Die Alone: If you saw Natasha Rothwell in the first season of The White Lotus and thought, "that lady needs her own show!" then this is the answer to your prayers. Here, Rothwell stars (and also created the show!) as Mel, a 35-year-old "broke, fat, Black woman" who works at JFK airport. She is currently single, has one best friend, Rory (Conrad Ricamora), and her boss, Alex (Jocko Sims), also happens to be her ex, who is about to get married to the woman who was meant to be his rebound. Mel doesn't have a lot going on in her life, but when she has a near-death experience, she is determined to make some changes. Including how to find someone to serve as her emergency contact.

Over the course of eight episodes, you are going to watch this woman attempt to evolve but in such a frustrating manner that you know it's all going to fall apart. The show can feel like very broad comedy at times, but then it gets incredibly sharp and incisive. The Thanksgiving episode where she goes to her brother's house for Thanksgiving is a particular standout, managing to be deeply uncomfortable and thrilling, showcasing all the many ways in which families can be infuriating and loving, often at the same time. Mel's life is extremely chaotic, and while it was sometimes hard to watch her be the architect of her own destruction, I binged this show in two days, compelled by Rothwell's riveting central performance and all the fascinating supporting characters. The airport setting is definitely engaging; JFK can be one of the most irritating places to visit as a traveler, but maybe on my next trip, I will amuse myself by imagining what Mel and her colleagues are getting up to behind-the-scenes.

Nobody Wants This: Looking for a delightful romcom that you can binge in one delightful sitting? Then this is the show you seek. Created by Erin Foster and starring the charming pair of Kristen Bell and Adam Brody, this is a story of what happens when Joanne (Bell), a woman who co-hosts a podcast with her sister about her sex and dating life, ends up dating Noah (Brody), who is...a rabbi. 

As broad and ridiculous as that premise sounds, the show is sublime. The writing is pitch perfect, and rather than just leaning into a bunch of jokes about Jews or sex-positive millennials, it deftly manages to highlight the very real issues that are keeping these two people apart, but more importantly, the very real chemistry that keeps pulling them together. It also doesn't hurt that the supporting cast consists of Judith Lupe and Timothy Simons as Joanne's sister, Morgan, and Noah's brother, Sasha. Those two are up to some craziness on the sidelines, and watching the antics of this couple's friends and family members is almost as delightful as watching the couple themselves.

While this first season offers up a complete and delicious romance to satisfy all of your cravings, I am desperate to find out what happens next. And if the writing and acting wasn't enough, the show's soundtrack is full of absolute bangers that always brought a smile to my face. This is the perfect comedy: funny, charming, and brimming with heart. I defy you to not be instantly bowled over by it - everybody wants this!

Ludwig: When my friend sent me the trailer of this show, I couldn't have been more excited. A BBC show starring David Mitchell, my favorite British comedian, as a puzzle creator who is trying to figure out the disappearance of his twin brother, a police detective, and ends up solving a bunch of murder mysteries as though they were different types of puzzles? Inject that directly into my veins!

Written by Mark Brotherhood, this show is a delightful comedy mystery series, and I binged all six episodes in a flash. Every episode features a unique murder that John "Ludwig" Taylor (Mitchell) needs to solve, but there's also the overarching mystery of why his twin brother James has disappeared that he is investigating with James's wife, Lucy (Anna Maxwell Martin), and son, Henry (Dylan Hughes). Meanwhile, no one at the police station has figured out he is not his brother James, so he needs to keep bumbling about James's colleagues at the police station while he looks for clues, whilst accidentally solving all their murder cases in brilliant fashion. The tone is deftly comic but intriguing, the murders are all intricate and satisfyingly solved, and I instantly wanted to go buy a big book of logic puzzles when I was all done. If you like reading cozy mysteries, this show is the TV equivalent and is the perfect fall treat. Unfortunately, it does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, so Series 2 had better be filming right now. 

September Movies Part 2: The Wild Robot, Transformers One, His Three Daughters

I was felled by Covid for a good part of this month so didn't go out to the movies as much. But I have rallied in this final week. One of these movies is the best thing I've seen in a long while, and the other two were equally engaging in different ways. Dive in to find out which!

The Wild Robot: I didn't know much about this animated film going into it, apart from the fact that Lupita Nyong'o voiced the main robot. But oh, was I in for an absolute treat. Written and directed by Chris Sanders, based on the book by Peter Brown (a book that you can be sure I have now requested from my local library), this is a sumptuous and moving story about what happens when a robot named Roz is shipwrecked on an island that is only inhabited by wild animals. Designed to help humans, she must adapt to speak to these animals, who are all understandably scared of her, and figure out her place in the world. 

Roz befriend a fox named Fink (voiced by Pedro Pascal) and accidentally becomes "mother" to a gosling that she hatched after crushing his nest. That gosling grows up to be Brightbill (Kit Connor), and Roz is determined to help him learn how to swim and fly so he can get ready for his annual migration with the other geese. Along the way, we get a story about being an outsider, becoming a family, conservation, protecting the planet, using technology for good rather than evil, and just a whole host of other themes and topics that keep swirling around and overwhelming you with their complexity and narrative richness. 

Overlaying all this narrative is the drop-dead gorgeous hand-painted animation that deserves to be in a museum. The way Roz moves and navigates this island is fun to watch, but every single animal, tree, and river is also depicted lushly and beautifully. This is a very funny movie -- Matt Berry voicing an annoyed beaver and Catherine O'Hara as an opossum who is burdened by her many children were particular highlights -- but it is also an incredibly moving film that made me teary at multiple points (I was probably also nudged to tears by Kris Bowers's sublime score). It is so wonderfully sweet and delightful, and I demand it receive an Oscar nomination, because it's one of the best animated movies I've seen and profoundly stirred my heart.

Transformers One: Before going to this movie, I read a few sentences that said this was the origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron on the planet of Cybertron. I was vaguely aware of those words, but as someone who has never watched a Transformers movie and has only hazy recollections of the cartoons from when I was nine, I will confess that I was probably not this movie's target audience. Unlike my husband, who proceeded to enjoy this movie thoroughly.

The voice cast is great, with folks like Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, and Jon Hamm, who are all adept at providing ample amounts of comedy at the beginning and then high drama towards the end. The animation is also fantastic, particularly during battle/racing sequences when the inventiveness of these Transformers and their ability to morph into different shapes is on full display. It's also a fun and engaging story, even for someone like me, who had no idea who these characters were or any of the lore but could easily spot the classic tropes of an origin story and figure out where we were headed. This is a film that probably has a lot more appeal to Transformers fans, but if you're just a casual moviegoer who is desperate to see something new, this film offers up a perfectly entertaining time.

His Three Daughters: Written and directed by Azazel Jacobs, and starring the powerhouse trio of Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olson, and Natasha Lyonne, this is a story about three sisters who are taking care of their father during his final days as he enters home hospice care. I know that sounds grim, but this is more of a story about family dynamics and the extremely complex relationships between sisters. Each of these women are incredibly different, and they each have unique bonds with each other, further complicated by the fact that two of them are biologically related while the other is "only" a half-sister but is the one who has been taking care of their father all along. 

I won't say much more, because this is very much a character study where you need to get all the little pieces of family history revealed to you bit by bit to put together a complete portrait of the little resentments and misunderstandings that have been building up in these women over the years. They love each other, but that love is complicated by all this prior history and baggage, and watching them air it all out in this extremely fraught setting is both stifling and exhilarating. This is also a very New York movie, taking place in that claustrophobic apartment, and the soundtrack of a passing subway train or the buses and garbage trucks rumbling by made me feel right at home. 

This film has been hyped and lauded by many critics, and while it is phenomenally acted, I did find myself left a little cold. Yes, it's a great story, but the climax felt a bit overwrought to me, and overall, I had a sense that this would make a better play than a movie. Perhaps it's because I have never been particularly fazed by the idea of mortality, but I found myself more fascinated by the psychological complexities of the characters while not actually moved by their difficult circumstances. Please watch this film and then enter into a raucous debate with me about why I should feel differently!

September Movies Part 1: Blink Twice & Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

I got back from my honeymoon and immediately headed to the movie theaters to see what September had to offer. So far, I have been pleasantly surprised!

Blink Twice: The directorial debut of Zoe Kravitz (who also co-wrote the screenplay with E.T. Feigenbaum), this movie really threw me for a loop. I spent the first hour thinking it was entirely too vibey and going nowhere, and then all of a sudden, things took a thrilling (but somehow also hilarious) turn that had me on the edge of my seat with a big smile on my face.

Naomi Ackie and Alia Shawkat star as Frida and Jess, two women who are waitresses at an event for Slater King (Channing Tatum), a tech billionaire. Halfway through the party, they change into fancy dresses and infiltrate the party as guests, where they quickly get thrown into King's friend group. They all have a great night, at the end of which, King invites Frida and Jess to fly back with him and his friends to his private island. This is the stuff that dreams are made of, right? Well, yes, but also...nightmares.

For the first half of the film, everything is a bit of an ethereal drunken and drugged up bacchanal on the island and everyone seems to be having a great time. But then, Jess starts to feel like something is a little bit off. And that's when the fun/horror begins. This movie proceeds to be an amazing feminist romp and takedown of the patriarchy, and there's a particular line that Frida delivers to a character played by Geena Davis (yes, she's on the island too!) that feels like it is a commentary on how women of color feel all the time when a white woman chooses to ignore their plight in favor of a rich white man instead. This is an extremely weird but self-assured little movie, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: I had no memory of the original 1988 film, so I first watched it in the morning before I saw this sequel in the afternoon. If it's been a while since you've seen the original, I highly recommend you do the same, because I do not think anything in the sequel would have made much sense to me if I hadn't prepped beforehand. I'm sure the story can stand alone, but it's a much richer tale when you already know who all these characters are and what happened to them thirty-six years ago.

The sequel is essentially a retread of the original, except this time around, Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), is all grown up and now has a teenage daughter of her own, Astrid (Jenna Ortega). Astrid is a typical teenage girl who hates her mom, and now Lydia can empathize with her stepmom, Delia (Catherine O'Hara), for the hard time she always gave her as a teenager. When they have to return to Winter River for a funeral (natch), Astrid gets into trouble, and the only way Lydia can save her is by invoking Beetlejuice's name three times. And thus, much mayhem ensues.

It's silly but perfectly entertaining if you loved the original. Special effects have obviously improved a great deal since 1988, but this film still keeps some of the kitschy special effects from the 80s for peak nostalgia value. And the soundtrack is particularly delightful, including a nod to one of my favorite Bee Gees songs. If that's sufficiently intriguing, head right over to the theater and check out what happens when the juice is loose!

More Summer Binges: The Outlaws, Angry Young Men, The Perfect Couple, Sunny, The Change

Yes, yes, you didn't think I spent the summer just bingeing Emily in Paris did you? I found many more random old and new shows to catch up on, and now here are my suggestions for what you should be streaming next.

The Outlaws: Created by Elgin James and Stephen Merchant (who also co-stars), I had never heard about this show before, but when I started watching, I ate up all three seasons with a big ol' spoon. My god, what an astonishing delight. The show follows a group of Brits (and an American expat, played by THE Christopher Walken!) who all find themselves doing community service for a range of infractions. There's a socialite Instagram influencer, an Indian-Polish teenager who crumpled under the pressure to be a perfect student (can anyone here relate *cough*), a nightclub bouncer who is trying to make a better life for him and his sister, a former conman, a mediocre lawyer, a strident Black community activist, and a white middle-aged businessman who is fed up of the woke police.

As you can tell, they all have different agendas, wildly different worldviews, and at first, it seems impossible that this group is ever going to get along. But then...stuff happens. I can't tell you what, because with only six episodes a season (five for the third), this show is economical and brimming with twists and turns that you need to experience for yourself. Suffice to say, this motley crew will have to band together after they get into trouble and need to dig themselves out of an ever-deepening hole. Every actor is doing impossibly great work, and the writing is pitch-perfect, with my particular favorite nuance being the fact that Merchant takes every opportunity to have various people mock the way he looks. It is just an absolute joy from start to finish, funny, touching, and a thrilling caper that will keep you on the edge of your seat. And as a compliance professional, let me just say, I greatly enjoyed the deep dive into money laundering that you will get along the way. 

Angry Young Men: This is a three-part documentary series about the Bollywood writing partnership of Salim-Javed, i.e. Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, who wrote a series of blockbuster scripts in the 1970s that came to define an entire era of Bollywood cinema. Now their kids, namely Salman Khan, Farhan Akhtar, and Zoya Akhtar, have produced this documentary, helmed by director Namrata Rao, to give us some insight into how this partnership came about and what makes these two men tick. I have of course heard of these films, like Deewar, Sholay, Seeta aur Geeta, etc. but had no idea they were all written by the same duo. I had no sense of what a tour-de-force they were in the 70s, particularly instrumental in making the career of Abhishek Bachchan and other actors who are now household names. 

Yes, this is a hagiography, with many talking heads from famous actors, directors, and critics raving about their work, but the most fascinating moments are when we get to hear directly from the men themselves, as well as their ex-wives and current wives. For men with convoluted love lives, they seem to have really lucked out in terms of the women they married, and the film paints a rather cheery portrait of non-traditional families. But the best part is when we just get to hear these men speak and share a little bit about their difficult childhoods, and their deep desire for fame and recognition. Were they arrogant and brash? Yes, everyone agrees on that. But were they absolute geniuses? Yes. If you have the slightest interest in Bollywood, this documentary is a wonderful ode to Hindi cinema and these two remarkable writers who were the first to demand attention for the craft of screenwriting that was hitherto considered an inessential component of filmmaking. Unfortunately, the documentary makes the point that writers still don't command much respect in Bollywood, but Salim-Javed are still the gold standard that all writers aspire to when penning their scripts. 

The Perfect Couple: This just came out two days ago on Netflix and I've already binged all six episodes, so that's all you need to know. Developed by Jenna Lamia, directed by Susanne Bier, and starring Nicole Kidman, this is a perfectly paced murder mystery that doesn't take itself too seriously. Kidman stars as Greer Garrison Winbury, a rich author of detective novels who has a "cottage" on Nantucket, where she spends the summer with her wealthy family, which includes her supposedly doting husband, Tag (Liev Schriber), and their three sons. One of those sons, Benji (Billy Howle) is getting married to an outsider (i.e. working-class person) named Amelia (Eve Hewson), so the show takes place during that wedding weekend. When a body washes up on the shore, the whole family is thrown into disarray and every possible person comes under suspicion as they have excellent motives and nebulous alibis. 

It's sumptuously shot, excellently acted, and the Bollywood actor Ishaan Khatter even shows up as a close family friend, which was an utter surprise to me (though might explain why the title sequence of this show is reminiscent of a Bollywood number). Every episode ends on a delicious cliffhanger that will have you slamming the Play Next Episode button at regular intervals, and everything is wrapped up in a satisfying bow - no spoilers, but I promise you won't be left with any irritating loose ends. The show is based on Elin Hilderbrand's novel of the same name, which I have not read, but the show does deviate from the novel in numerous ways that all sound much better to me. So hop on the couch and get excited for a fun summery mystery.

Sunny: Created by Katie Robbins, based on a 2018 novel by Colin O'Sullivan, this slightly futuristic show stars Rashida Jones as Suzie Sakamoto, an American expat in Japan who is plunged into grief when her husband and son are killed in a plane crash. When her husband's company presents her with a "homebot" (a robot that can help you around the house) named Sunny to help her during this difficult time, she is initially resistant, but she gradually starts to warm up to this robot. And in doing so, she discovers her husband designed Sunny, and had a whole life that she knew nothing about. Her mother-in-law (played by the lovely Just Ongg) keeps evading questions about his past, and as Suzie gets Sunny to try and dig into her memories, they find themselves going deeper into a mystery that involve the yakuza and all manner of shady dealings. Over its ten episodes, the show is pretty vibey and has a somewhat erratic tone, sometimes playing into robot comedy, and then veering into dark drama and mystery. But it was compelling enough to keep watching from week to week, and now you can binge it all in one fell swoop. If you're a fan of mysteries, Japan, futurism, or Rashida Jones, this should be the next show on your watchlist, but if you're looking for a tidy narrative with a satisfying conclusion, you might want to try The Perfect Couple instead.

The Change: Created and written by Bridget Christie, this is a weird but weirdly touching little show about Linda (Christie) a woman who hits 50, starts the menopause, and decides she needs a break from being a wife and mother for a while. She packs up her stuff, hops on a motorcycle, and heads off to the Forest of Dean, on a quest to find a time capsule she left in a tree when she a little girl. Which tree? Who knows, let's hope she find it! When she gets there, she rents out a camper van from some strange sisters (played by Minca Dolan and Susan Lynch) and finds herself getting more and more involved in the bizarre lives of the local town's inhabitants. Meanwhile, back home, her incompetent husband, Steve (Omid Djalili), is overwhelmed as he discovers how much silent labor his wife has been putting in over the years to keep their lives tidy and functional. If you enjoy British "comedies" and aren't looking for a huge commitment, you can easily knock this show out in a few hours and have a few chuckles and quiet moments of profundity along the way. 

August Movies Part 2: Firebrand & The Instigators

Sadly, August has lived up to its reputation for being a bit mid when it comes to new movies. If you don't want to trek to the theater and want to find something to stream on the couch, the following are two potential options, but don't get your hopes way up. Honestly, I feel like I've had an off week watching these films, so I do encourage you to check them out if you have the bandwidth and come at me in the comments about how you really loved them!

Firebrand: Directed by Karim Ainouz, and written by Henrietta and Jessica Ashworth (based off a novel by Elizabeth Fremantle), Alicia Vikander and Jude Law star as Katherine Parr and Henry VIII. Parr was his final wife, the one who "survived" if you know the mnemonic, and this movie gives us a glimpse of what she was like as Henry's regent when he was abroad fighting battles. Upon his return, he is increasingly tyrannical, and she needs to ensure she doesn't go the way of this previous wives. 

I was initially invested in this film because I thought I was getting a genuine history lesson about a woman who generally doesn’t get much press. But it turns out this is one of those dramas where you end up having to do a ton of research after to sort out what is true and what is a fictional flight of fancy. If you’re a fan of The Tudors and this period of English history, perhaps this film will scratch your itch for excellent production design and costumes. But if you’re looking for propulsive plot, this is not the film for you. 

Law and Vikander do a decent job of realizing these characters, but there’s nothing new here - Henry is still just a great big bully who likes to shag every woman around and is desperate for an heir, while Catherine is a long-suffering woman plotting to gain some power and push for Protestantism. All the reading I have done since seeing this film to learn more about Parr has been genuinely more entertaining than the film itself. If reading is not your jam, perhaps this film will give you all the information you seek, but otherwise, just head to the library. 

The Instigators: This movie is certainly never a bore, but yet somehow still manages to be thoroughly mediocre. Directed by Doug Liman, it is the quintessential streaming movie, featuring a stacked cast but never quite making the leap from formulaic to fantastic. 

Matt Damon and Casey Affleck star as Rory and Cobby (genuinely didn't know that was the character's name until writing this post), two strangers who are down on their luck, need to make some money quickly, and so agree to help in a plot to rob the mayor of Boston (played by Ron Perlman of all people) on election night. What follows is a botched robbery that spirals unendingly out of control, and as the two men go on the run, we get more of their backstory as well as peel away the many layers of corruption that have led to their current predicament.

The script is definitely fast-paced, and Hong Chau livens up the proceedings halfway through the film as Rory's therapist, who is trying to stop her client from digging himself into a deeper hole. But the movie simply failed to wholly captivate me. Maybe if I was in a theater, I would have been forced to pay attention and find more to love, but as a streaming film, it all happened in the background while I was playing Candy Crush on your phone. It doesn’t feel like it’s funny enough, slick enough, or action-packed enough: it’s just so-so and painting by the numbers and by the time you get to the end, you’re like, well OK, I guess that helped me while away two hours.

August Binges: Mr. Throwback, The Decameron, Taskmaster

I always find myself discovering a slew of new shows in the summer, free of the pressures of regular fall/spring programming. This summer has been no exception, with streaming services releasing a string of intriguing offerings. Here's a round-up of what I've been watching over the past month!

Mr. Throwback: This is a story about a man named Danny Grossman (Adam Pally), who used to be a basketball phenomenon in middle school and then had it all taken away from him and fell from grace. As a kid, NBA superstar Stephen Curry (playing himself!) was Danny's best friend, along with Kimberly (Ego Nwodim), who now run's Stephen's media company and manages his entire life for him. They fell out of touch after Danny was banned from playing middle school basketball, but 25 years later, Danny has re-entered the picture because he needs some money. He is hoping that he could leverage his friendship with Stephen to get out of trouble. But one lie snowballs into another, and what follows is a six-episode mockumentary as Danny furiously tries to maintain a giant lie, gets his ex-wife and daughter to play along, and has to deal with the naive Curry, who is willing to believe the best of everyone and the suspicious Kimberly, who can only assume the worst. It's a pretty basic sitcom with some fun cameos and jokes, but the premise does go stale pretty quickly. However, it's an insignificant time commitment and a perfectly pleasant way to while away an afternoon, so why not give it a shot?

The Decameron: Created by Kathleen Jordan, based on the 14th century short-story collection by Giovanni Boccaccio, this is a delicious little miniseries about what happens when a bunch of Italian nobles and their servants are trapped in a beautiful Italian villa outside of Florence, which they have fled to so they can avoid the plague that is raging through the city. The cast is stacked with people like Zosia Mamet, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Tony Hale, Tanya Reynolds, Leila Farzad, Karan Gill, etc. and the entire thing has a distinctly British sensibility of heightened silliness and deeply dark humor. Every character has their own nefarious plots afoot and ambitions to get by in this plague-ridden world - some nobles are trying to make an advantageous marriage, others are trying to land a job, and meanwhile the servants are trying to decide if they need to revolt or just keep maintaining the ridiculous status quo even under these extraordinary circumstances. It's a lushly produced, extremely engaging series, just eight episodes long, and it will keep you thoroughly entertained from start to finish. Some people will die, others will thrive, but at the end of the day, I think we can all agree that this is the most oddly hilarious story about the Black Death.

Taskmaster: There have been 17 series of this game show to date, and I watched Series 5 months ago as it is widely recognized as the best series to date. Subsequently, I have now made my way through several more series, each one delighting me to no end with its absurdity and the charming relationships that develop between contestants over time. Created by Alex Horne, each series takes five comedians (usually British ones, but occasionally you'll get a Canadian or Australian thrown in there) and over the course of (usually) ten episodes, they have to do a series of "tasks" that have been set by Horne and will be judged by the Taskmaster, British comedian Greg Davies. The tasks range from the sublime to the ridiculous - they might win points for popping a balloon from the further distance away, or creating a work of art out of toilet paper. The inventiveness of the tasks is one reason to watch, but the contestants' befuddled reactions to the tasks is the main reason to watch. Sometimes they have an absolute flash of brilliance as they discover a secret loophole and complete the task perfectly, while most of the time, they blunder through in abject cluelessness, cursing Alex throughout. It is utterly joyous and one of the best ways you could spend an afternoon. Every series is available for free on YouTube, so honestly, you cannot complain you don't have a thing to watch this summer. Endless fun awaits you!