November Movies Part 1: Dead of Winter, Bugonia, Frankenstein

Alright, the theaters and streaming services are filling up with new movies and I'm on a quest to watch them all. Ready to join me?!

Dead of Winter: Written by Nicholas Jacobson-Larson and Dalton Leeb and directed by Brian Kirk, this is an icy and compelling story about Barb, a widow in Minnesota (played by Emma Thompson, doing her best Marge Gunderson impression) who is travelling to a remote lake in the middle of a snowstorm. Along the way, she stumbles across a kidnapping and now must attempt to rescue the young woman who has been kidnapped. And of course, she has no cell service and there aren't any people around, so she's going to have to get creative.

I would watch anything Thompson is in, and she unsurprisingly delivers a powerhouse performance as this innovative and courageous woman. Throughout the film we also get flashbacks of her younger self falling in love with her husband and the two of them building their life together, which makes for a very bittersweet narrative. I won't go into much more detail about the kidnapping, but let's just say that this film also stars Judy Greer in a particularly villainous turn, which is finally an appropriate use of Judy Greer as a proper co-star in a movie, and not just playing a supportive best friend or weepy mom. This is a taut, spare, and thrilling movie, with many compelling twists and turns, and it's the perfect treat if you're looking for more women-centered pictures that pack a bit of a punch.

Bugonia: Written by Will Tracy (who based it on a Korean movie by Jang Joon-hwan named Save the Green Planet!) and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, this is a wonderfully weird and creepy movie about a man named Teddy (Jesse Plemons), who convinces his cousin Don (Aidan Delbis) to help him kidnap Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), the wealthy CEO of a pharmaceutical company. Why is he kidnapping her? Because he is certain that she is actually an Andromedan, an alien masquerading as a human who is manipulating the entire human race to do the bidding of her alien race and consequently ruining human existence.

The premise may be absurd, but oh boy, none of the sentiment will feel out of the ordinary to you. This movie hits deep about how people get radicalized on the Internet, delving deep into conspiracy theories, and then attack the powerful in a bid to right socioeconomic wrongs. Stone delivers a brilliant performance here, initially thoroughly confused by these wild accusations, then attempting to placate this troubled man, and finally calling the shots and masterfully manipulating him in a desperate bid to escape. The movie mostly consists of Plemons and Stone talking at each other and it's an acting masterclass that crawls under your skin and leaves you wanting more. Of course, this is still a movie directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, so if this is your first time watching his work, please expect it to take some...unexpected turns. This movie further confirms that I prefer his work when he's a director but not the writer, because as weird as this movie might be, it's not as weird as it would be if Lanthimos were penning the script himself. And that's really saying something.

Frankenstein: Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, this is a faithful adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel, with Oscar Isaac playing the titular doctor, and an unrecognizable Jacob Elordi playing his creation. Many years ago, I watched the National Theater's production of Frankenstein with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternating the roles of Frankenstein and the Creature on different nights, and this movie felt very similar to that stage play. Except, of course, it is so much more epic in its vast scope and cinematography. Production designer Tamara Deverell and costume designer Kate Hawley had better be getting nominations on Oscar night, if not outright taking the statuettes home, because this is one of the most stunning movies I have seen in a long time. The gothic vibe reminded me a great deal of Crimson Peak, another drop-dead gorgeous del Toro movie, starring a different woman named Mia (in this movie, Mia Goth plays Elizabeth, the unfortunate woman who is going to get tangled up in Frankenstein's machinations).

This movie is two and half hours long and your mileage may vary if you are expecting something innovative story-wise. Del Toro is not interested in any reinterpretations or twists here - this is a classic story and he's going to tell it classically. I, for one, was completely on board from start to finish. Elordi delivers an incredible physical performance as the Creature initially stumbles into life and then has to contend with the fact that he might never die. Isaac is perfect as the crazed doctor, obsessed with proving his brilliance but lacking any ounce of empathy to actually do any good once he brings his Creature to life. And Mia Goth is a classic gothic heroine, virginal but intelligent and fascinated by the Creature, and bringing a little lust into the proceedings. But the British accents by all these non-British actors are a little iffy, so be warned if that's a pet peeve. Otherwise, no notes. I think Mary Shelley would be proud.

November Binges: Chad Powers & The Lowdown

As the weather gets chilly and the cozy couch beckons to you, are you in need of a binge? Well, here are two suggestions.

Chad Powers: Created by Glen Powell and Michael Waldron, based off an ESPN program where Eli Manning went undercover at a football practice as a rookie named Chad Powers, this is a very silly but twisty story about a man named Russ Holliday (Powell), who was a star college quarterback, but then made some mistakes that turned him into one of the most reviled men in America. Eight years later, he is trying to make a comeback, but he is foiled. Through a series of events, he hits upon the idea of covering his face in prostheses (his father is a Hollywood make-up artist, conveniently) and embracing the alter ego of Chad Powers, a deeply weird man who goes to the open tryouts at the fictional University of Southern Georgia and wows the coaching staff with his incredible throwing arm. He gets a spot on the team, but now has to figure out how he will keep the ruse going, creating ever more insane lies in the mythology of Chad Powers.

The first season lasts all of six episodes so it's a quick and dirty binge that packs a lot of laughs and Powell doing the silliest Southern voice on the planet every time he becomes Chad Powers. The finale does veer into a tone that was not in keeping with the rest of the show and got decidedly dark, so I'm not sure how they're going to dig themselves out of the plot hole they've dug themselves into. But I can heartily recommend this show if you want something extremely fun and diverting to while away an afternoon. 

The Lowdown: Created by Sterlin Harjo, of Reservation Dogs fame, this is another Oklahoma-based show starring Ethan Hawke as Lee Raybon, a journalist who calls himself a "truth-storian." When a local author who was from a rich family dies by apparent suicide, Lee starts digging into the suspicious circumstances. What follows is a very elaborate plot that involves many conspiracies, greedy white people, exploited Native Americans, and a general romp that is going to involve a lot of bloodshed and violence. While still maintaining a comic tone throughout.

The show is pretty vibey and watching it week to week meant I kept forgetting large swathes of plot. Most episodes end in a cliffhanger so you'll get sucked right in, but this is the type of show that probably works best as a binge when you can just mainline it in one go and enjoy Hawke's performance, alongside the excellent work Keith David is offering up as a private investigator who also gets caught up in these shenanigans. It's a perfectly adequate murder mystery, elevated by the setting, but I think it would have been better if we were spending more time with the Native American characters, rather than just having them be supporting characters in this whole enterprise. I suppose I was craving more Reservation Dogs and ended up with more Killers of the Flower Moon. Alas.

October Movies Part 3: Good Fortune & Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

Do you want to go out for a light comedy? Or wallow in an intense drama? The world is your oyster!

Good Fortune: Written and directed by Aziz Ansari, who also stars, this is a story about Arj (Ansari), a struggling down-on-his-luck documentary filmmaker in Los Angeles who is relying on the gig economy to stay afloat. He is living out of his car and driving around LA to make food deliveries and run errands for anyone who will pay him, and one day he crosses paths with Jeff (Seth Rogen), a super-rich tech investor who lives in a swanky mansion in the hills and appears to be living his best life. Oh and also, Arj has a guardian angel, Gabriel (Keanu Reeves, in an excellent piece of casting). 

Now, Gabriel has a very specific remit as a guardian angel - he is in charge of preventing accidents from texting and driving. That's it, he's not meant to get more involved than that. But, when he sees how Arj is struggling, and begins to worry that he might be a suicidal "lost soul," he decides to take matters into his own hands. Which leads to Arj swapping lives with Jeff, which doesn't quite have the restorative, life-affirming effect that Gabriel was expecting.

If you've seen the trailer for this movie, you've pretty much experienced the entire film. The movie is still charming AF though, and Ansari, Rogen, and Reeves are an excellent trio, playing off of each other in funny and unexpected ways. The always charismatic Keke Palmer also puts in an appearance as Elena, a co-worker and love interest of Arj's who is the voice of reason as he seeks to live out his bougiest fantasies. The movie does end with a bit of a whimper, and Ansari can't quite write himself out of the predicament his script has placed him in a way that feels particularly honest. Nonetheless, it's a diverting and sweet movie about why we all need to be socialists. Eat the rich!

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere: Written and directed by Scott Cooper, based off the book by Warren Zanes, this is the story of Bruce Springsteen (played with customary angst and stoicism by Jeremy Allen White) during the creation of his 1982 album, Nebraska. Springsteen is just coming off a highly successful concert tour, and he has rented a home back in New Jersey to slow down and take stock of what he wants to do next professionally. His manager, Jon Landau (played by the equally stoic Jeremy Strong), is looking out for him, but is also keen to discuss his next album. He's excited when Bruce starts preparing a demo in his house, unaccompanied and using a four-track recorder. But that demo contains a dramatic shift in Springsteen's usual rock n' roll, and what follows is a challenging process of deciding how to record this album and market it to the executives who are not going to be happy about this change in musical style.

Personally, Springsteen is going through a deep depression, reflecting on his childhood, his abusive father (played with complicated menace by Stephen Graham), and his blue-collar roots, all of which influence the deeply dark and personal songs on this new album. He meets a new woman named Faye (Odessa Young, in a somewhat thankless role as an amalgamation of all the women Bruce dated during this period in his life when he was a lost soul), and while like all tortured artists he tries to distract himself with their relationship, he finds that he simply cannot outrun his demons.

This movie is a bit of a slog. If you love Bruce's music, and particularly this album, it might be a real treat, but as someone who barely knows any Springsteen music, and certainly nothing from this album, the entire film just feels like a very somber treatise on depression and the artistic process. It's perhaps telling that the only time I got excited is when we see him record Born in the USA halfway through the film, before things settle back into melancholy. There isn't much plot here, and while White and Strong are delivering great performances and showcase a beautiful friendship between these two men, it felt like this movie was stuck in one gear throughout and grinded through. There's a scene at the very end when Bruce's mask finally breaks, and that was probably the most powerful moment of the film for me, but at that point I had already sat through two hours of rather humdrum storytelling. Ultimately, this movie might be worth it if you're a fan of the Boss, but otherwise, this is not going to be worth your while. 

October Binges: Task & Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping

Need a new binge for the month? Do you want a moving American miniseries or a silly British sketch show? Both, you say?! Well, keep reading!

Task: Written and created by Brad Ingelsby, who was responsible for the equally dramatic and moving Mare of Easttown, this is another miniseries set in rural Pennsylvania where we follow an FBI agent named Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo, at his soulful best), who has to set up a task force to investigate a string of robberies targeting stash houses operated by a drug-dealing motorcycle gang. He is working with a group of agents who have been recruited from different teams, some a lot greener than others, and the group dynamics are certainly going to get interesting. But outside of the task force, Tom's home life is currently quite tragic, with his teenage son in prison awaiting a hearing, and his younger daughter trying her best to navigate all the tension at home while his older daughter flies in to create more tension.

Meanwhile the robberies have been masterminded by Robbie Prendergrast (Tom Pelphrey), a man who is seeking revenge against the gang that operates these houses and has decided this is the best way to do it. The initial plot of robbing drug houses reminded me a lot of Dope Thief, but once we get into Robbie's reasons for the robberies and his whole family situation, I got a hell of a lot more invested in this character. The series is kickstarted by a robbery that goes horribly wrong, resulting in the kidnapping of a young boy, and the resulting cat-and-mouse chase between Tom and Robbie, that very satisfyingly culminates halfway through the series, is a sheer delight.

This show is shot beautifully - yes, the body count is high and the emotions are wrenching, but a lot of scenes are set in the woods by a beautiful lake, and there's always a lot of calm Nature to behold as people are getting shot or strangled. The interplay between the different characters is fascinating, and Tom is a particularly compelling lead, as he was formerly a chaplain, and is therefore not some stereotypical hot-shot agent or arrogant Fed who can't have any empathy for the criminals he's pursuing. There are many twists and turns, but everything is wrapped up neatly in seven episodes. If only all television could be this economical and excellent.

Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping: I'm a huge fan of the comedy duo of David Mitchell and Robert Webb, so naturally I was delighted to see they were coming out with a new sketch show on Channel 4. The first series just aired and comprises six episodes that aired weekly but are now all available for your bingeing pleasure. So what are you waiting for?

Fans of British comedy will get everything they want from this extremely silly show. There's a running gag about a Sweary Aussie Drama, and occasional forays into the writer's room to get a meta take on the comedy writing process and sketches we've just seen. The supporting cast comprising comedy stalwarts like Stevie Martin, Lara Ricote, Krystal Evans, and Kiell Smith-Bynoe is excellent, and once in while, you may even get a famous cameo...Olivia Colman anyone? This show is certainly not high art, but every week it offered me a wonderfully diverting 24 minutes, and now I bequeath it unto you. Go forth and have a giggle, you deserve it!

October Movies Part 2: The Smashing Machine, Roofman, The Woman in Cabin 10

Another week, another slew of movies in theaters and on streaming to dive into. Huzzah!

The Smashing Machine: Written and directed by Benny Safdie, this is a biography of the wrestler and MMA fighter, Mark Kerr (played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who doesn't have to stretch his acting chops too much here, but still does a fine job). Starting in 1999, the movie chronicles his struggles with opioid addiction, his challenging relationship with girlfriend Dawn (Emily Blunt, who seems destined for a Supporting Actress nomination), and his long friendship with Mark Coleman (Ryan Bader), a man he has known since they were both on the college wrestling circuit and now they compete together in UFC. Most of the action centers around a Japanese Pride Fighting League Championship and we watch as Mark ruins his initial chances in this league, but then stages a comeback after going to rehab.

I was invested in this movie from start to finish. What can I say, I'm a sucker for any sports movie. The fights are choreographed beautifully, capturing all the brutality and intricacy of the sport, and I was cringing in my seat with every punch and kick, assuming that at any moment, Mark was going to get a life-threatening injury. The score by Nala Sinephro is jangly and unsettling, which heightens your sense throughout the movie that something abjectly awful is about to transpire at any moment. 

I knew nothing about Mark Kerr prior to watching this movie, so I thought this was a wonderful biopic, well-acted and well-told, and keeping me completely absorbed for two hours.  Folks who know more about Kerr would presumably not be as surprised as I was by every turn of events in this film, but this is still a fine example of filmmaking and a fairly moving story about a man who was always nice to everyone around him (to the point where he eventually does need to learn to exercise some boundaries), and fought his demons both on and off the ring.

Roofman: Directed by Derek Cianfrance, who also co-wrote the script with Kirt Gunn, this is another true story about Jeffrey Manchester (played to charming perfection by Channing Tatum), a divorced US Army veteran who is struggling to re-integrate into society and earn enough money to provide for his three young children. He has keen powers of observation and decides that the only solution to his problems is to start robbing local stores by breaking in through the roof at night, holding up the employees in the morning, getting them to open up the safe and give him all the money, and then making a run for it. He does this for two years, earns the nickname "Roofman," but eventually is caught. However, he then escapes from prison and ends up hiding in a Toys "R" Us as he figures out his next steps. Which is where the majority of this movie takes place.

Kirsten Dunst plays a Toys "R" Us employee, Leigh, who becomes the object of Jeffrey's affections. I won't get into how that could even happen when the man is a fugitive, but let's just say it's all very inventive and amazing, and all the more insane for being a true story. This man is so effortlessly charming and wonderful, and the entire movie is just a light romantic comedy that has an undertone of sadness because you know that the good times simply cannot continue in the way that they are going.

I only knew this was a Tatum movie and had completely missed that Cianfrance was the director. This movie is not remotely as devastating as his other films, but it certainly has its melancholy beats accompanied by a beautiful score by Christopher Bear. It's a sweet, quiet, lovely little tale, and I found myself thoroughly invested in these characters for two hours. Now I need to go read up more about the Roofman.

The Woman in Cabin 10: This movie is based on a book by Ruth Ware, and I devoured the novel when I read it a few months ago. Unfortunately, the movie slightly pales in comparison. Directed by Simon Stone who adapted the screenplay with Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse, the movie stars Keira Knightley as Laura "Lo" Blacklock, an investigative journalist who needs a break from reporting intense stories and decides to do a bit of a fluff piece that would involve a trip on a billionaire's luxury superyacht. What could go wrong?

Well, as you can imagine, a lot goes wrong. Lo wakes up in the middle of the night after hearing a disturbance in the cabin next to hers (Cabin 10, of course), and when she goes out onto the balcony, she sees someone fall overboard. She raises the alarm, but the crew confirm that everyone is accounted for on board, and that no one was ever staying in Cabin 10. We then get a twisty psychological thriller about everyone gaslighting Lo while she tries to prove that she did in fact see someone in that cabin and that something is deeply wrong.

This plot works great as a book, but I think the film treatment exposes some of the rather ludicrous elements of the story. The film also gets a bit rushed and chaotic towards the end, unlike the novel that has an opportunity to keep ratcheting up the tension and make us root for our intrepid heroine. This movie is certainly an acquired taste, but it's also a perfectly adequate Netflix afternoon movie. So, if you're lazing around and want something mildly diverting, you certainly could do a lot worse.

October Movies Part 1: One Battle After Another; The Lost Bus; Sorry, Baby

October is off to a good start with two excellent movies on streaming and one predictably overhyped movie in theaters. Let's discuss!

One Battle After Another: I very begrudgingly walk into the theater any time I have to go watch a Paul Thomas Anderson movie. So you will not be surprised to hear that this film, written and directed by him, did not manage to make me gasp in awe like most critics who are always quick to fawn over his work. It's inspired by the 1990 Thomas Pynchon novel Vineland, so you've got a white male auteur adapting another white male auteur and it's all very sigh-inducing. However, this movie does have a lot of plot, and isn't just heavily vibes-based, so I did appreciate that. 

The movie opens with Leonardo DiCaprio and Teyana Taylor playing Pat and Perfidia, members of a far-left terrorist group who try to break out immigrants from detention centers and attack people and organizations they disagree with. Which certainly has a lot of parallels to the current state of affairs in the United States where every liberal seems poised to get militant to defend their rights. Perfidia gets pregnant, has the baby, but has no interest in being a mother when her life has been devoted to the revolution. When she is caught on a job, she makes a deal for witness protection, naming other members of the group who all have to flee for their lives, including Pat and his baby daughter. The action then picks up 16 years later, with Chase Infiniti playing Pat's long-suffering teenage daughter, who thinks her father is insanely paranoid and is just trying to live her best life. But they are in for some trouble because a far-right colonel named Steven J. Lockjaw (nothing subtle about that name, and nothing subtle about this performance by Sean Penn), is coming for them. He was sexually obsessed with Perfidia back in the day, but now has to show his allegiance to a KKK-style group he has become allied with, and it's all very icky and insane. 

Predictably, I enjoyed the performances of all the Black women in this movie (Chase Infiniti in particular is an absolute STAR and I'm excited to see what she does next in her career), and then was thoroughly fed up of Penn and DiCaprio. I understand that I am supposed to hate the Lockjaw character, but I have to say, it did not feel like much of a stretch for Penn to portray this rage-filled lunatic with insane ideas. Meanwhile, Pat is constantly getting high and self-pitying, which feels thoroughly pointless if you think you're in danger and should be protecting your daughter, but you know, that's how fathers operate. Overall, I would say the plot is fine, the characters are blah, but the actual filmmaking is compelling. The score by Jonny Greenwood is yet another masterpiece, with a lot of chaotic piano in tense chase scenes that kept me on the edge of my seat. And Michael Bauman's cinematography in the climactic car chase on some rolling hills is epic and destined to make this an iconic cinematic moment. I was not happy to watch this movie, and found it overlong and underwhelming, but I cannot deny that it did manage to have moments of brilliance throughout. If only it could have been edited down to only feature those moments and separate the wheat from the chaff.

The Lost Bus: This movie was directed by Paul Greengrass, from a screenplay he wrote with Brad Ingelsby, based on a section of the non-fiction book, Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire by Lizzie Johnson. It takes place during the 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in California's history, and specifically focuses on the true story of a bus driver named Kevin McKay who had to navigate a school bus of 22 elementary school children through the wildfire and drive them to safety. In real life, there were two teachers on board, but in the movie we only get one, Mary Ludwig, as the other teacher did not wish to be portrayed.

Matthew McConnaughey and America Ferrera play Kevin and Mary and it is miraculous to watch these two wonderful actors work together over the course of this film. These two strangers are thrust together in an absolutely horrendous situation, and their ability to join forces, calm each other down, and most importantly, calm these children down as they fight for their lives, is absolutely heroic. But the real star of this film is the direction by Paul Greengrass. His documentary style is in full force here, with close-up shots of his excellent actors that capture every look of fear and panic, and sweeping shots of this fire that is raging through the land with absolutely no intention of sparing the humans along its path. 

There is only one word to describe this movie: harrowing. The shots of the fire and how quickly it spreads are panic-inducing, and watching seasoned firefighters battle against Mother Nature and eventually just give up is painful. It is such a shame this movie had a limited theatrical release and is now just on Apple TV+ because this was meant to be seen in a theater. But considering my reaction to the film when watching it at home, perhaps it's best I didn't have a more immersive experience. At one point I simply burst out crying because I couldn't believe what these people were going through. Living on the East Coast, it's so easy to become inured to hearing stories of wildfires in California, and understanding their horror in the abstract without needing to get into the details. Well, this movie will certainly introduce you to the visceral details. I thought this would be a corny Hollywood "based on a true story" movie, but it's a truly moving piece of cinema that introduces us to some heroic figures and reminds us of how much damage is being done in California every time another one of those fires gets out of control.

Sorry, Baby: After watching those sweeping epics, you may want to settle in for this quiet and yet nonetheless powerful movie written and directed by Eva Victor, who also stars in it (triple threat!). Victor plays Agnes, an English professor at a liberal arts college in the wilds of New England. The movie opens with a visit from her best friend, Lydie (the marvelous Naomi Ackie), and the two of them have a wonderful time together, marred only by an awkward dinner with some of their friends from graduate school. As Lydie and Agnes talk, you get the sense that Lydie is worried about Agnes, wondering why she still lives in the same house and works at the same school they graduated from, and overall seems to have a somewhat subdued and stagnant life. But Agnes reassures her that all is well.

The movie follows as a series of vignettes that flash back in time to gradually give us the story of what happened to Agnes in graduate school and how she has subsequently been dealing with the fallout during The Year of the Bad Thing. Be warned, it involves sexual assault, but this movie deals with the topic in such an incredibly nuanced and heartbreakingly funny way. It highlights the thoroughly useless response most of society has when you have to report a sexual assault or actually hold anyone accountable for it, whether it's the doctor that Agnes goes to see or the college administrators she makes a report to. Of course, Lydie is by Agnes's side throughout, and this movie is the ultimate ode to female friendship, showcasing how female friends can have a relationship that far transcends the paltry realm of romantic love. 

The dialogue is spare and direct, and most of the joy of this film is in watching expressions flit over Agnes's face as she struggles to figure out what would be the right thing to say or how she should feel in any given situation. It's such a remarkable and singular performance. The final monologue she delivers at the end of the movie serves as a distillation of the entire human condition and is so profound that it makes me want to cry just thinking about it. Everyone should watch this movie, watch that final monologue, and come away with a renewed understanding of their role in humanity. I can't wait to see what Eva Victor does next.

September Binges: The Paper & Duster

Yes, it's October 1, but I've been travelling, and I did watch these two shows in September, so indulge me, OK? 

The Paper: Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Koman, this is ostensibly a sequel to The Office, with the same behind-the-scenes documentary crew now having moved on to filming the staff of a struggling newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, called the Toledo Truth Teller. A new editor-in-chief has just joined the paper, Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson), and he is certainly no Michael Scott. But he is also a bit of a nepo baby, who was previously a star toilet paper salesman, so there is understandably a lot of doubt as to how this man is going to turn this newspaper around. He is full of gusto, filled with a love for proper journalism, and determined to return the Truth Teller to its former glory as a prestigious local paper that features original reporting instead of a hacky click-bait venture that has nothing substantive to say. 

Obviously, there are going to people that support his cause, like former Army soldier and Stars and Stripes reporter, Mare (Chelsea Frei), and then people who hate everything he's doing and want him to fail, like Esmeralda (Sabrina Impacciatore), the interim editor-in-chief who was usurped by Ned's arrival and has no interest whatsoever in his brand of journalism. But the majority of the staff are just people trying to work a 9-to-5, who will go along with the new guy's plans because they just need to take home a paycheck. As the ten episodes of the first season progress, however, you can start to see these people come together and maybe understand Ned's vision. And of course, there will be a healthy mix of their personal and professional lives before the season ends.

There's nothing particularly revolutionary about this show, but it has a wonderfully charming cast and goes down real easy. These characters are all relatable, and if you loved The Office, there's no reason you won't fall in love with this show too, as it has many familiar beats but also feels updated for 2025. The only returning cast member is Oscar Nunez, so you will get some fun asides with him as he tries to avoid the camera crew abut spectacularly fails as he gets more invested in the Truth Teller's journey. This show is telling a relevant story about the importance of local reporting and the need for real journalism in a world that is increasingly prone to lazy reporting standards. But overall, it's a light and breezy comedy that will give you plenty to laugh about.

Duster: I binged all eight episodes of this show on a single plane ride back from Amsterdam. It was the best seven hours of my life. And I was devastated to then learn the show was cancelled after a single season, probably because it took people like me so long to get around to watching it. Alas. But I am now here to exhort all of you to watch it as well. Who knows, maybe if more eyeballs get on it, it'll magically come back to life? But even if it doesn't, it makes for a riveting miniseries that will have you on the edge of your seat from the first episode to the last. Created by J. J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan, and set in 1972 Phoenix, this show is unlike anything else I've seen on TV for a long time.

The charming Josh Holloway stars as Jim Ellis, a getaway driver who works for Ezra Saxton (the brilliant Keith David), a mob boss who was in the war with Jim's father and who has known him all his life. Jim essentially regards the Saxtons as family, but all of that is about to change with the arrival of FBI Agent Nina Hayes (Rachel Hilson), the FBI's first Black female graduate, who has specifically requested to work on this case. Nina has a personal axe to grind against Saxton, and with the help of her new partner Awan (Asivak Koostachin), she sets out on a mission to recruit Jim as her inside man to help her get the dirt she needs to arrest Saxton.

All of these actors are doing incredible work, and the scripts are tight and propulsive. No bloated 1+ hour runtimes here - each episode usually lasts 50 minutes or so and it's a wild ride every time. The characters are all interesting and lived in, and there are constant twists and turns where you will get little doses of information at a time that completely upend your understanding of what has been happening all along. While a work of fiction, the show will also randomly involve actual historical figures, like Elvis Presley, Howard Hughes, or Richard Nixon, and it's so wildly inventive and delightful that I had a big smile on my face the whole time I was watching it. It's insane to me that more people have not been raving about this show, but now here I am, and I suggest you watch it so you can rave about it alongside me. It does end on a huge cliffhanger to set up the (now-cancelled) Season 2, but it manages to wrap up most of its plot lines neatly and heartily satisfy you for this one glorious season. You can't always get what you want - but this show is exactly what you need.