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
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Loren: I haven’t been into Tarantino since around the Kill Bill movies (they’re ripoffs, not homages, don’t @ me). I know I would enjoy Inglorious but I haven’t taken the time to sit down with it. This on the other hand very much intrigues me. I’ll give it a go at some point.
RDT: I’m not a huge Tarantino fan. I think his ego gets in the way of his talent. That being said, I have been intrigued by the trailers for this. So, I suspect, I’ll see it sooner than later.
Rick: I feel like Tarantino peaked with Inglourious Basterds, and it’s been a steady downslide since then. I’ll wind up seeing this at some point, but I’m not in a tremendous rush.
AJ: I actually got to attend an advanced screening of this one… It’s not perfect, but I enjoyed it. And I definitely laughed when no one else was laughing but oh well!
Josh: Oh boy, am I excited for this. I’m a total mark for Tarantino and this looks to be one of his best. I don’t know what else to say. Who doesn’t know about this movie? Even my mom knows.
Limited Release
The Mountain
Loren: Goldblum is so delightfully weird and now we can also add creepy.
RDT: Oh this is definitely not the movie for me.
Rick: I’m super in for this. While I love comedy Goldblum, I’m excited to see him take on a drama again. I think the last one I saw him in was Igby Goes Down back in 2002(!). Also, hats off to the choice in aspect ratio. Makes it feel like watching a home move from that period.
AJ: I don’t know that anyone loves Jeff Goldblum as much as I do but this looks a little out of my comfort zone. Maybe if it wasn’t nearly two hours long I’d brave it. But I’ll wait til it’s streaming somewhere for free to give it a looksee.
Josh: Jeff Goldblum is a goddamn treasure, but I don’t think I’ll go out of my way to watch this in theaters. On my parent scale of must see in theaters to never gonna watch, this falls right onto wait for streaming.
The Ground Beneath My Feet
Loren: Say what now?
RDT: That one woman looked like whatsherface from the CIA show and the teen show? I have a headache and am literally blanking on all of these. But I can remember Jordan Catalano(sp?).
Rick:
AJ: I looked it up — it’s from Austria. And boy does it look it. Not for me but it is getting a ton of great reviews so I’m sure it’s for many others.
Josh: 🤷🏻♂️
Skin
Loren: Too true to life right now for me. I’m not into feeling sorry for white supremacists even redemptive ones. The performances look stellar though.
RDT: Looks like American History X by way of Michael Mann. Not sure I’m actually interested in such a movie, to be honest.
Rick: These kind of stories scare me more than any horror movie ever could. Presuming it’s as good as it looks, it would pair well with the criminally underseen Imperium starring Daniel Radcliffe. I mean, you’d need a serious palate cleanser afterward, but still.
AJ: I haven’t seen American History X in some time but this looks of that ilk. I don’t know that this is something I want to bring into my life right now – I agree with Josh, it looks pretty intense – but I also agree it looks excellent.
Josh: Wow, this looks intense and excellent. Let me be perfectly frank, though. I’ve got zero desire to watch it when it feels like this is the reality just outside our walls. I know it’s a story of redemption, but I just don’t have it in me to watch this.
See You Soon
Loren: Gee I wonder if those two kids are gonna work it out? Wait… no I don’t.
RDT: Hey kids, have you ever seen a movie????
Rick: I tried, but I couldn’t find an eyeroll gif that expressed the level of disdain I feel for this movie.
AJ: Ok, first of all, that is not “starring Harvey Keitel.” But also, Harvey Keitel, what’s going on? Do we need to have an agent intervention? You’re better than this.
Josh: Holy crap, this looks like the most banal, stereotypical, basic bitch cable movie. The best part of this trailer is his hair, and take that to mean whatever you will.
Mike Wallace is Here
Loren: You guys remember news? I can’t recall the last time I saw one of the major news organizations actually run a story. Not just wall to wall coverage of whatever shitstorm we’re currently in.
RDT: Having recently revisited The Insider, I think I’m good on Mike Wallace for now. The Insider really holds up, by the way.
Rick: I wasn’t sold on this when the trailer started, but as it dove deeper it pulled me right in. Probably not in theaters, but I’ll catch it at home.
AJ: Yeah, I’m down for this. Fun fact about me: I am obsessed with “60 Minutes.”
Josh: Fascinating. But at the cost of a movie ticket, it definitely doesn’t break above ‘wait till it’s streaming.’
Dead Water
Loren: Yeah, I gotta believe that Josh down there has this movie pegged. As soon as Nelson showed up it was pretty obvious.
RDT: I dunno, it looks like an interesting enough premise. That aside, it also looks god-damned terrible.
Rick: Here’s a thought, you should all just watch Sam Neill, Nicole Kidman, and Billy Zane in Dead Calm from 1989. It’s this movie, but good.
AJ: Judd Nelson! Casper Van Dien! I mean…. There’s no way this is good, right? Might it be… DEAD IN THE WATER? Hey-oh!
Josh: Let me guess the big twist: Judd and Casper were working together the whole time! There, I just saved you however long this movie is.
Dancing Elephant
Loren: What a horrific title for a comedy! Great work everyone involved!
RDT: Hi. I’m never going to watch this movie. Thanks!
Rick: I can appreciate a good Chinese comedy. I like the slapstick nature of most of them, but this…this not so much.
AJ: I barely had patience enough to get through that trailer. So no.
Josh: AJ, I actually really enjoyed this trailer. I think perhaps because the real world is so depressing. (That’s fair, Josh! -AJ)
Astronaut
Loren: Sometimes you just need a feel good movie to contend with everything in this terrible world.
RDT: This looks adorable, and I’m a fan of Dreyfuss. I’ll keep it on my radar.
Rick: They ought to pay that trailer editor double. He condensed that entire movie into ninety seconds. Now I don’t have to spend ninety seven minutes watching it.
AJ: That looks like it could be a sleeper hit. Maybe a “comeback” piece for Dreyfuss. The score in the trailer is probably temp music but kind of indicates I’d need a tissue or three at the end.
Josh: I mean, from everything I know about the toll it takes on the human body to go into space, Richard Dreyfuss is going to die on the way up, but hey. It still looks uplifting.
TV/Streaming
NETFLIX
The Great Hack
Loren: I’m somewhat of an enigma when it comes to this stuff. I 100% believe they are selling everything I’ve ever posted but also have you seen this meme?
RDT: So, I should delete my…..everything…..shouldn’t I?
Rick: I followed this story as it was happening, and I regularly read about online privacy/data. The horse is out of the barn. Reclaiming your data is nigh impossible at this point. We’re about twenty years too late to undo the damage.
AJ: Now THIS is a horror movie. (One I will totally watch, too.)
Josh: Fuck me, this looks depressing. But yes I will absolutely watch it and be horrified. I won’t do anything afterwards because I’m a lazy turd, but I will be horrified.
Orange is the New Black Season 7
Loren: Can’t get into this one, ever since season 1 when no one seemed to care that Piper was going to prison. Like at all.
RDT: I am woefully behind and likely never going to catch up.
Rick: I’ve been watching since the beginning. The last season felt a little lacking, but I think that’s because of how intense the previous season was. It was impossible to recreate that level of drama. Nevertheless, I’m anxious to see how everything gets wrapped up.
AJ: Like Josh (see below), I also stopped watching after Season 2. Or maybe 3. Anyway, I’ll catch up on it someday. I didn’t stop watching because I didn’t like it. I just kept forgetting to watch the new episodes and it got away from me — there’s TOO MUCH STUFF!
Josh: I stopped watching after Season 2, but hey, good for them reaching Season 7 on a platform that pretty much kills all shows after Season 3 or 4.
HULU
Veronica Mars Season 4
Loren: They dropped this a week early during their panel at Comic Con. The Lady™ and I started this over the weekend and barring some weirdness in the first episode it jumps right back into form.
RDT: I was going to revisit the whole series (and movie) leading up to this. But that’s a lot of content (like 50 hours????) and I’m afraid of spoilers. I just may have to pull the trigger on this over the weekend.
Rick: Ugh, I wish they would have retconned the movie. Or just not made it in the first place, but I digress. I have at least some hope that this will be worthwhile. And at only eight episodes it shouldn’t be a chore to get through.
AJ: I am cautiously optimistic. I am a tried and true “Marshmallow” (AKA, a fangirl for the series), but I don’t know that this new, grown-up version of the series falls in with the one I loved for so long. I certainly didn’t love the 2014 movie as much as I wanted to.
Josh: Ok, first let me just say I loved the original Veronica Mars. Loved it. My concern here is that the charm of a high school private detective kind of goes away when everyone is an adult. I’m hoping it’ll be great though.
AMAZON
The Boys
Loren: I’ve read the comic that this is based on and it gets a little too graphic for my personal taste. But hey, if you like the DCEU then you might really love this. Otherwise it’s just another deconstruction of the super team.
RDT: Looks a little “edgy for the sake of edgy,” but it’s superheroes. So, yeah, I’ll at least watch a few episodes.
Rick: I love me some Karl Urban, and this looks ridiculous enough that it’s at least worth a few hours of my time.
AJ: YES. I put this in my Amazon watchlist WEEKS AGO. I looooooove Karl Urban, guys. LOVE. And I think Jack Quaid is pretty adorable. And he’s 27 – I checked – so I am NOT a dirty old lady.
Josh: Karl Urban using a baby with laser beam eyes to kill superheroes? Um, yes. Sign me up. This is exactly my wheelhouse.
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, AJ, and Josh