On the morning of April 25, Netflix gave us two big offerings: John Mulaney: Baby J, a stand-up comedy special of the comic chronicling his journey to sobriety in hilarious fashion, and The Light We Carry: Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey, an interview special featuring the two iconic Black women. …
Read More »'Ghosted' Is One of the Worst Romcoms in Recent Memory
It’s been a dreadful year — OK, few years — for romcoms. This year gave us Shotgun Wedding, a J.Lo-starring smorgasbord about a destination wedding overrun by pirates; You People, Kenya Barris’ tone-deaf interracial-dating romcom whose big kiss was faked by CGI; and Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher’s Your Place …
Read More »'The Diplomat' Gives Keri Russell the Meaty Post-'Americans' Role She Deserves
A surprising thing has happened over the last few weeks: The Night Agent became one of the 10 most-watched Netflix series of all time. This isn’t a knock on the spy-thriller, which features the usual solid craftsmanship of The Shield creator Shawn Ryan, a brisk pace, and some likable lead …
Read More »'Mrs. Davis' Is a Bonkers Vision of Our AI-Controlled Future
Midway through the second episode of the new Peacock series Mrs. Davis, vengeful nun Simone asks her rodeo cowboy ex Wiley to help her make sense of the events of the show up to that point. “Don’t underestimate how stupid this gets, sweetheart,” he warns her. It is almost impossible …
Read More »They Took a Third Date to Costa Rica. Then Covid Trapped Them There
We live in a golden age of narcissism, fueled by social media and the belief that everything we think, utter, eat, create or gaze upon should be of interest to others. In this sense, Netflix’s reality TV snack Longest Third Date is perfect for these times. It’s a chronicle of …
Read More »'Barry' Season 4 Premiere Takes No Prisoners — Except Bill Hader
THIS POST CONTAINS spoilers for this week’s episodes of Barry, “Yikes” and “Bestest Place on the Earth.” Late in “Yikes,” Barry’s Season Four premiere, Barry admits that Fuches was right all along about Barry taking Gene Cousineau’s acting class. “If I hadn’t have tried to understand myself, we wouldn’t be …
Read More »Why Is Russell Crowe Playing a Whiskey-Guzzling Italian Exorcist?
Spinning heads, seared flesh, holy incantations in Latin: could it be… Satan? We have reached the 50th anniversary of The Exorcist, William Friedkin’s blockbusting, genre-transforming horror landmark that has been parodied, sequelized (on multiple occasions), and firmly embedded in the collective cultural consciousness. And now along comes The Pope’s Exorcist, …
Read More »'Obsession' May Be Netflix's Kinkiest Series Yet
William is a highly successful pediatric surgeon, a little uptight but living a good life with his family in London. But from the moment he locks eyes with Anna, standing across the room at a lavish party, he’s doomed. He knows it. We know it. The fun ofObsession, a new …
Read More »'Beau Is Afraid' Is the 'Citizen Kane' of Mommy-Issues Movies
“They fuck you up, your mum and dadThey may not mean to, but they doThey fill you with the faults they hadAnd add some extra, just for you.”-“This Be the Verse,” Philip Larkin “A boy’s best friend is his mother.”–Norman Bates Someone may want to start a Kickstarter for Ari …
Read More »'Barry' Goes Out on Its Own Terms in Deliciously Dark Season 4
Early in the new season of Barry, the show’s title character is told that while he has done bad things, “I’m sure you’re not a bad guy.” This is among the most clichéd sentiments of a 21st century television littered with stories of monstrous actions committed by seemingly less-than-monstrous individuals. …
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