Welcome to the Weekend Watch. Where we try to point you towards the best ways to spend your viewing time (or, at least, steer you clear of the garbage).
Movies
Wide Release
Peppermint
Loren: Alias is The Punisher with a little Lady John Wick in there for flavor. I like that this trailer starts like one of those Jennifer Garner Jesus movies and then gets all Frank Castle on us. I’ll see this eventually but probably not in the theater.
RDT: Yeah, I’m a pretty big JG fan (except for the Jesus movies. Sorry Jennifer….and Jesus). It’s nice to see her kicking ass again. So count me in! Maybe even this weekend!
Rick: I’m only mildly disappointed that this is not about Peppermint Butler from Adventure Time getting bloody revenge in the name of the Candy Kingdom, but I’m still all in for this.
Jen: I’ll give a pass to the “dead kid trope” here since it’s the main inciting incident of the film – and revealed in the promotion of the film. It’s good to see Jennifer Garner kicking ass again and not just as a mom in Jesus movie.
The Nun
Loren: Besides that fantastic jump scare at the end, this looks… fine I guess? It’s weird that The Conjuring-verse is so big. I guess people like these movies. Should I be watching them? Rick, should I watch these movies?
RDT: Unless Rick screens this (and it sounds like he probably won’t), I will likely never, ever see this movie.
Rick: To Loren (and anyone else on the fence), you should absolutely see The Conjuring. It’s a masterclass in how to make a proper haunting/possession film. You should not, however, come within fifty feet of The Conjuring 2, for it will taint you with its awfulness. This just looks like “Jump Scare: The Movie!” to me. I’m all set, thanks.
Jen: Did you hear about how YouTube made them take down an ad for this movie that was just a jump scare? It looked like you were watching a normal YT ad before your video and then she pops out and people were losing their s***. That is some excellent marketing. But no. I don’t need this much terror in my life right now.
Limited Release
The Hows of Us
Loren: How did those 14 year olds buy that house? I can barely buy food for me and Winston.
RDT: Meh
Rick: Zzzzz…
Jen: So this is NOT related to This is Us? Hmmm, pass.
The Apparition
Loren: Meh, if I’m watching anything even vaguely religious it’ll be more in tune with The Nun. Pass.
RDT: I took French for 7 years. And, I hate to admit (sorry, Mrs. Antonellis), without those subtitles, I’d have no idea what they were saying. And with them, I have no desire to see this movie.
Rick: Something something thou shall not worship false idols. Still, I’m interested. Couch interested, not in theaters interested.
Jen: This looks more interesting as the trailer goes on that it did at the outset. That being said, I spent enough years in the Catholic church to not need to relive that.
Paltan
Loren: A Bollywood war movie that feels REALLY racist. It’s good to know that America isn’t the only country to put out weird jingoistic war movies.
RDT: After reading what my cohorts wrote, I don’t even feel the need to watch this trailer.
Rick: Admittedly I’m curious about this conflict, but I have zero interest in watching this movie. If it were made more in the style of The Odd Angry Shot or Breaker Morant I’d be more apt to give it a go.
Jen: Jingoistic is a good word for this, Loren. I’m interested enough to Wikipedia the conflict but not interested enough to watch this version. And now I’m back from the Wikipedia with more knowledge, thanks trailer for not being interesting enough and forcing me to learn more!
Alright Now
Loren: What if Robin Sparkles moved to the UK instead of New York.
RDT: This looks pretentious as fuck….. and also pretty awful.
Rick: Cripes, that trailer is a mess. It actively made me not care a lick about that movie.
Jen: I just read that this movie was almost entirely improvised. I think the trailer editing was also improvised.
Mara
Loren: How many times have we seen this movie? I like Olga Kurylenko and all but I doubt that’s enough for this one. We know that we can get new stories in horror, it’s been shown by things like It Follows, Get Out, The Descent, The Babadook, Hereditary, etc. Give me more of those and less retreads please.
RDT: The second they said “sleep paralysis,” I said “zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……….”
Rick:
Jen: Haven’t we covered sleep paralysis in just about every form from horror to documentary? I’m good.
I Am Not A Witch
Loren: I don’t know enough about Zambian culture to “get” this movie, but that last bit is pretty hilarious.
RDT: I’m never going to watch this movie.
Rick: How often do movies from Zambia get released in the US? I’ll keep this on my radar.
Jen: I’m curious about this one and hope to see it on a streaming platform in the near future.
Hal
Loren: Hal Ashby is definitely one of the forgotten directors of that time and he shouldn’t be. That being said I did and will probably forget to watch this doc. I think that’s mostly due to the fact that to make the Doc Doc™ these days you need to have a hook and this just feels pretty straight forward.
RDT: The only work I’ve seen of Hal Ashby’s was the pilot to “Beverly Hills Buntz” starring Dennis Franz. It was a spinoff of “Hill Street Blues,” a show I never watched. I don’t think I stuck around for the rest of the season on Buntz either. So, let me catch up on some of his “not so lesser” projects before checking this out.
Rick: There’s a bit of a hole in my film knowledge when it comes to Hal Ashby. I only managed to watch Harold and Maude a couple of years ago. This might make a good primer for me and help fill in what’s missing.
Jen: I love a movie doc and didn’t realize how many films I enjoyed were Ashby’s. I’ll give this a watch.
God Bless The Broken Road
Loren: I just can’t do it with the Jesus movies. Next.
RDT: Just from the title, I know I’m never going to….yada yada yada.
Rick: Full disclosure, I know one of the screenwriters of this movie. While I’m definitely happy for her success, this is not a movie for me.
Jen: I am not the target audience of this film.
Age of Summer
Loren: Huh, so the kid from The Gifted can act. Who knew. This looks like a cute enough coming of age movie. If I remember it down the line I’ll give it a go.
RDT: I feel like I’ve seen this movie a million times before. But familiarity is not necessarily a negative thing. So, I’ll keep it on my radar.
Rick: I got flooded with memories of being a lifeguard back in my teens. Way to overwhelm me with nostalgia, trailer. You have gained my interest.
Jen: I’m not opposed to this movie. It did make me want to go to the beach immediately though.
Cold Skin
Loren: Thank you for hearing me movie gods and making a different type of Horror movie. I feel like you may have gone too far in the other direction here but, hey at least it’s different.
RDT: It’s a little outside my wheelhouse. But as long as no one fucks that fish person, sure, I’ll give it a watch. (Uh, Ray Stevenson is definitely fucking that fish person @1:14 in the trailer there – Loren)
Rick: I started out disinterested, but once you get the reveal of what’s really up on the island, I got drawn back in. Also, director Xavier Gens is pretty solid. Unless it gets terrible reviews, I’m in.
Jen: Me likey. Something about this really struck me. I’ll definitely seek this out!
TV/Streaming
NETFLIX
Iron Fist Season 2
Loren: The first season was pretty damn bad and the character was definitely the worst part of The Defenders. That being said, they’ve listened to the criticisms, hired a new fight choreographer, changed Danny’s attitude, and gave him the goddamn mask. I’ve watched all the other series so far, I’m not stopping here.
RDT: I still have to watch Luke Cage. But I’ll get around to this eventually.
Rick: I’m going to give this a couple of episodes, but this may be the first Marvel Netflix series I don’t finish.
Jen: I never watched the first season and from what I’ve gathered I’m not missing much.
Next Gen
Loren: Is this just Big Hero Six? Also, I’ve been telling you people for years about the #robotapocalypse but no one wants to listen.
RDT: I think I’ll just watch Big Hero 6 again, willingly, you know, because I kinda love that movie (sorry, Rick….but I am curious to hear your rant).
Rick: Loren’s right. About the #robotapocalypse and that this is essentially Big Hero Six, just minus the four other super cliche characters. Honestly, I’d rather watch this than ever sit through Big Hero Six ever again (I’ll spare you my rant about that movie). I mean, I probably won’t watch this, but if I had to choose…
Jen: Hmmm, yeah, I’m getting a Big Hero Six vibe here. This looks… fine. Not a lot of strong feelings on this one.
Atypical Season 2
Loren: That is a much better trailer than the one for the first season. I would have to go back and watch that aforementioned season however so this moves way down my list.
RDT: Still gotta watch season 1…..of this show…….I completely forgot existed.
Rick: Oh yeah! This was that show I thought should have just been a movie. My thoughts have not changed.
Jen: I really should check this show out. I like that the focus is expanded to the whole family and not just the main character. I could be persuaded to make this my next binge.
City of Joy
Loren: Powerful stuff. I think that this will be too heavy for me but I’m glad it’s a story getting out there.
RDT: Definitely a story worth telling. I’m just not sure I’ll ever watch it. (Sorry….)
Rick: Ugh. At least there’s effort being made to help heal and protect these women. These horrors shouldn’t be happening in the first place, but it’s good to hear something is being done to right the wrongs.
Jen: I’m not crying, you’re crying.
HULU
I Love You, America Season 2
Loren: You’d think this would be right up my alley but I didn’t even bother with the first season. Maybe I’ll give it a shot but I kinda get my fill from John Oliver and Sam Bee.
RDT: I like Sarah Silverman as a person, a lot. But I’ve never really found her super funny. If I think of it, I’ll give season 1 a shot and go from there.
Rick: Nope. Not even a little bit.
Jen: Sarah Silverman’s twitter is great and she really does try to embrace differing ideologies without patronizing, but I don’t know if I can handle more than 280 characters at a time from her.
SHOWTIME
Kidding
Loren: That looks sad and twisted and real in its fakeness and I kinda want to watch it. Doesn’t hurt that the supporting cast is pretty great.
RDT: I think my uncle pays for Showtime. (He loves Ray Donovan.) So, if that’s true, I’ll give it a watch.
Rick: I’ve been waiting for this one to drop for a few months. Not sure it’ll get me to sign up for Showtime, but I’ll seek it out on another platform.
Jen: This cast does look great and I could probably tolerate Jim Carrey just enough to get through a couple of episodes. I’ll give it a shot.
HBO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U3f9aDvJGA
The Deuce Season 2
Loren: I feel like I should’ve been watching this show. Maybe I’ll give it a shot.
RDT: Wow, I’m the only one here who watched season 1? You all should catch up and dive into season 2 with me!
Rick: This show is right in my wheelhouse but I have yet to start watching. I really have no excuse except I keep forgetting I have HBO Now.
Jen: This DOES feel like a show one should be watching but I can’t summon enough interest.
AMAZON
Pete the Cat
Loren: I’m sure if I had kids this would be one of the shows I wouldn’t mind having to watch over and over and over and over and over again.
RDT: I’m not the audience for this show.
Rick: I’m not exactly a pre-school animation watcher (unless it’s something I work on), but this looks decent. I may watch an episode or two just to see what it’s like.
Jen: OH MY GOD there is a Pete the Cat SHOW???? My daughter is obsessed with Pete the Cat – I’m going to go look for it, back soon…
STARZ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGTTB3qWZys
Warriors of Liberty City
Loren: That’s an impressive statistic about the amount of players to come out of this area, but I don’t think this show has enough of a hook for me (someone without STARZ) to go search it out. Obviously I’m glad these kids have a program like this but I’m not sure all of these programs need their own docuseries.
RDT: What Jen said Rick said Loren said.
Rick: Loren sums this one up nicely. I have nothing to add.
Jen: What Rick said.
So that’s your upcoming weekend in review. Let us know what you saw, liked and/or hated.
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From Hollywood,
–Loren, RDT, Rick, and Jen