June is here and we’re working through a couple of ongoing series that we’re reviewing with Loki and Star Wars: The Bad Batch. We’re also digging into a lot of other shows, wrapping up some things and starting up a few others – or at least getting closer to start dates for some projects.
Current Netflix queue: I Am Woman, Rebecca, Cool Hand Luke, The Dig,
HBO Max queue: David Bowie: The Last Five Years, Westworld S3, Greenland, Zack Snyders Justice League, Bright Young Things
Hulu queue: Das Boot, Swing Things, I Kill Giants
This week had me burning through a few things and wrapping up a couple of series that we had talked about before so it was fairly productive on that front. That, in turn, made this a Netflix-heavy week as we started a bunch of shows there outside of one thing.
I’ve been enjoying Jean Smart’s revival in so many projects the last few years since Fargo and Legion and this new half-hour series Hacks was a great addition to it. Most of what she’s worked n has been dramas for the last few years and this one has plenty of that but it also gets into the comedy just right. At ten episodes clocking in at 30-minutes each, it works a sharp and quick edge to it without a lot of frustrating fluff or subplots that detract from the main piece. I like the whole cast and Hannah Einbender works the difficult job of being the gen-z/quasi-millennial take that is tired of dealing with a bullshit system and has to deal with someone who spent a lifetime working through it to make themselves what they are. It’s not a huge culture clash show but a good one for digging into dynamics and listening.
I had heard many Helen Reddy songs growing up during my time but I never really knew anything about her as by the time I got “of age” to learn things, she had been largely blacklisted. So it was fun to check out the standard biopic for I Am Woman, which features a fantastic performance by lead Tilda Cobham-Hervey and a really enjoyable performance by Evan Peters. It doesn’t get into the music as much as I’d like at times as it’s more about the human drama, the family relationships and dynamics, and the business, but the moments we do get are completely magical and it pays off well. Cobham-Hervey is definitely one to keep an eye out for.
While the fifth season of Workin’ Moms aired a few months ago on CBC in Canada, it’s finally made its way to Netflix in the US and I get to enjoy my guilty pleasure again. The show is just ridiculous in so many ways without being over the top that I just want to throttle most everyone. It does kind of glide past the pandemic, which I’m mixed but mostly glad to see, and works to just move forward more here with the characters. Honestly, I mostly watch it at this point for Dani Kind since I’ve liked her stuff for awhile now.
It took a few years after the first season of Black Summer to get the second one a green light and to finally arrive, but more of this zombie apocalypse series has made its way here. I’m only a couple of episodes into it because this is one that actually makes me tense to watch with how it unfolds. It’s mostly done as interconnected vignettes told out of order for awhile and piecing it together is half the fun. But I love the locations and the different way it approaches everything. The first season with its heavy focused on the larger planned community and the fast-moving zombies racing across it was surreal when you scaled back enough.
In catching up on older things that I’ve got in my collection that I’ve revisited while working while trying to avoid streaming so as to not use up my data cap, it’s an odd mix this week. Over the course of the week, I’ve background watched:
- Dunkirk
- Quantum of Solace
- A big chunk of Modern Family
Movie reviews this year:
- Feeling Through Review
- Two Distant Strangers review
- Yes-People Review
- A Love Song for Latasha Review
- If Anything Happens I Love You Review
- Burrow Review
- Godzilla vs Kong
- Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story Review
- Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years Preview
- Raya and the Last Dragon Review
- The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run Review
- The Little Things Review
- In Other Words Review
- Earwig and the Witch Review
What did you watch this past week?
