(Welcome to Small-Screen Stream, a feature where we share the best television shows streaming and where you can watch them.)
We’re in that weird time of year where things have gotten cold, dark, and frankly pretty miserable outside, which welcomes the idea of long TV binges on the couch. We’re also — luckily — living in a time when that’s never been more feasible, as streaming services across the board are punching up their TV catalogues, seemingly preparing their patrons for the long, cold winter ahead. That’s bad news for our vitamin D levels, but good news for our eyeballs and sanity.
For this week’s Small-Screen Stream, I compiled a list of a few new original series, some great programs that just hit streaming, a few things you should definitely catch up on, and a healthy serving of comfort TV for the nights when you just want to turn your brain off and relax. Think of it like hot cocoa in the form of visual pleasure.
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Hollywood has always had a problem with giving women leading roles once they start hitting their 40s and 50s. Obsessed with the fresh-faced, young women pouring into Los Angeles everyday, it’s one of the more shameful sides of show business. But thankfully that’s started to change a bit with great roles for women of all ages, and A24 has just released the first trailer that gives Julianne Moore one of those fantastic roles.
Gloria Bell (Julianne Moore) is a divorced woman just trying to meet the right man all over again, hitting up night clubs, dancing like no one is watching, and living her best life. That’s when she meets Arnold (John Turturro), and it looks like everything is coming up Gloria. At least at first. See what happens in the Gloria Bell trailer below. Read More »
(Welcome to The Soapbox, the space where we get loud, feisty, political, and opinionated about anything and everything. In this edition: don’t believe the hype – 2018 did not kill the horror genre. And why do we have to have this conversation every year?)
Blame a man’s foolhardy optimism, but part of me believed 2018 would close without an obscene end-of-year horror genre hot take shouted from left field. No such luck, friendo. What a difference mere days make. My eyes still ablaze after being scalded by the HOTTEST of takes: “2018 has not been a good year for horror.”
Winchester, The Nun, and Slender Man appear as damning examples. Suspiria isn’t “much of a horror film” (at least there’s no “It isn’t horror either” argument). A Quiet Place evokes “PG-13 thriller” vibes, no horror (I guess the author didn’t attend SXSW’s quiet-as-a-graveyard premiere). “There was Hereditary.” (Hereditary’s one-of-two glancing mentions in the not-to-be-named Vou – I mean, “rogue” hit piece). “We didn’t even get a decent shark movie this year.” Right. A tell-tale sign of horror erosion because every year’s catalog is defined by fierce finback filmmaking (Fine – Deep Blue Sea 2 stinks like rancid chum and The Meg is more fun than terrifying).
As horror’s 2018 obituary reads, “Here lies our beloved genre. Laid to rest because someone didn’t enjoy a few mainstream titles and they think The Haunting Of Hill House suffers from Netflix episode fatigue.”
*Smashes keyboard into a million little pieces* [Very Jules Winnfield voice.] Well, allow me to retort.
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Posted on Tuesday, November 13th, 2018 by Jacob Hall
Update: Variety reports that Pedro Pascal is officially set to lead The Mandalorian, confirming Making Star Wars’ scoop from last month. Details remain mostly under wraps, but Pascal will play “a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic.” And he’ll also wear some sweet Boba Fett-esque armor. Our original story continues below.
With production on Lucasfilm’s live-action Star Wars television series about to begin, we should be hearing about casting for the show soon enough. However, one of the show’s leading men may have been revealed a bit early. If the latest report holds water (and we believe it may), actor Pedro Pascal may soon journey from the harsh land of Westeros and the harsher land of the American southwest to a galaxy far, far away…
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Netflix recently made the unprecedented decision to release three of its Oscar contender films in theaters before they hit streaming. Two of which were expected — Alfonso Cuaron’s Oscar frontrunner Roma, the Coen Brothers’ anthology Western The Ballad of Buster Scruggs — but the third was something of a question mark: Bird Box starring Sandra Bullock and directed by Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier (The Night Manager). Right off the bat, Bird Box doesn’t seem like an Oscar movie, but the theatrical release of the film kind of makes sense: it stars an Oscar winner, is directed by a foreign film Oscar winner, and is a apocalyptic horror film that recalls this year’s smash hit, A Quiet Place.
But is the Bird Box early buzz actually good? Here is what critics who saw the film at its world premiere at the AFI Film Fest have to say about the film.
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A Series of Unfortunate Events is returning to Netflix for a final season. The series, adapted from Lemony Snicket‘s marvelously macabre books, will once again pit the Baudelaire orphans against the overly theatrical Count Olaf. The final season promises to bring everything to a possibly unfortunate conclusion at the start of the new year. Watch the A Series of Unfortunate Events season 3 trailer below.
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Mile 22, the latest Mark Wahlberg/Peter Berg action extravaganza, is hitting Blu-ray this week. And if you like free stuff (who doesn’t?), we’ve got something for you: a chance to win a free Blu-ray copy of the flick. And that’s not all! We’re also giving away a hat – that’s right, you can be the proud owner of a Mile 22 hat. All your friends will think you’re really cool! Details below.
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The Mumbai Film Festival began as a modest affair, though with the sponsorship of Fox’s Star network and telecom giant Reliance Jio in recent years, it’s exploded into a prestigious destination for cinema the world over. This year, the festival’s 20th, saw both premieres of Indian art-house films as well as arrivals of various 2018 festival darlings — Cannes, Berlin, Venice, you name it — but what separates the Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI for short, after parent organization Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image) from most festivals with such a vast selection is affordability.
For just 500 rupees — or $6.90 at the time of writing — the festival affords week-long access to over 200 films from the world over. I personally met folks who had travelled from all corners of the country (some, even internationally) to watch heavy-hitters like Roma, Border, Diamantino and Burning, films that may not otherwise see theatrical release in all parts of the world. It feels celebratory, too; given that the lineup is spread across half a dozen locations within a 12-mile radius, MAMI essentially becomes a city-wide affair. Cinema ought to be for everyone, not just folks who can afford skyrocketing ticket prices or the latest streaming service, and in that vein MAMI succeeds.
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Now that Godzilla vs. Kong has assembled a monster of a cast, the Legendary MonsterVerse film officially heads into production. With the start of production comes the release of the first Godzilla vs Kong synopsis, which gives us a better idea of what to expect in the kaiju clash of the century.
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(Welcome to The Soapbox, the space where we get loud, feisty, political, and opinionated about anything and everything. In this edition: it’s much easier to relate to the grumpy, Christmas-hating Grinch than those basic Whos.)
Illumination’s new animated adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! – shortened to The Grinch – introduces a younger generation to Dr. Seuss’ iconic green curmudgeon and his journey toward understanding the true meaning of Christmas. But many of us grew up in a world that never knew a holiday season without the Grinch, be it the classic children’s book or the 1966 animated TV special, or Ron Howard’s garish live-action reimagining. The Grinch has always been there – for some of us more than others. While most viewers undoubtedly identify with the Whos of Whoville and their unrelenting holiday cheer, I find the big green fuzzy meanie far more relatable a character, and it’s not just because I don’t particularly care for Christmas.
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