The Queen's Gambit

From the opening scene, the opening shot, of the movie "Split" I was hooked. I thought it all had to do with M. Night Shyamalan direction but now I realize it's also because Anya Taylor-Joy is a truly captivating presence on the screen. She is the star of Netflix's new series, "The Queen's Gambit." What's it all about? It's about an orphaned young girl who is taught chess by the grumpy janitor in the basement of the orphanage. It turns out that Beth (Anya Taylor-Joy) is a child chess prodigy. There are so many cliché possibilities here, it's impressive the smart and fresh moves this show makes. This fictional coming of age story is astounding for so many reasons, mainly because Anya Taylor-Joy is just so darn good. Isla Johnston, who plays the younger Beth Harmon is also fantastic. At the orphanage, young Beth is given tranquillizers daily along with her vitamin pill. This leads Beth to wig-out and play chess games in her mind on the ceiling of her dormitory. This upside-down chessboard is a wonderful effect and it appears when Beth gets high on her meds. The show is set in 1960s America and the costume designs are award worthy. In fact, the way the entire show is shot, the look and feel of it, is remarkable. It deals with addiction, mental illness, fame, sexism, and self destruction. It's one of the best things I've seen in 2020. Binge it now on Netflix.   

The Morning Show

Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell) has been let go as co-anchor of New York's fictional TV show, The Morning Show, for sexual misconduct. The #MeToo fall out of this for Mitch, for his long time co-host Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston), the network, and the woman who replaces Mitch, Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon) is the subject of Apple+'s new drama series. Apple+ is trying to jump into the TV streaming game along with Netflix and Amazon. They don't have a lot of content yet but they have some big names - Carell, Aniston, and Witherspoon - and that's just for this show. I was nonetheless skeptical about watching anything on Apple+. I'm not sure why. Steve Carell continues to impress me with his dramatic role choices and he is fabulous in this as are Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. But if there are awards to be handed out for best supporting actors, it's the brief appearance of Martin Short as a pedophile sexual predator who is absolutely jaw-dropping good. After watching him in this, I would love to see Short do more dramatic stuff. And then there is Gugu Mbatha-Raw who plays Hannah Shoenfeld, the woman who Mitch Kessler sexually takes advantage of. Her relationship with Mitch pre and post sexual encounter is a remarkable piece of acting. Catch The Morning Show on Apple+