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+ 

Alone

I’ve seen the trailer for Unhinged, the new Russell Crowe thriller where it looks like road rage goes the way of Falling Down. Unhinged looks ridiculous but I will likely watch it because I’m a sucker for this kind of stupidity. Crawl was one of my favourite films last year even though it was a bit of a schlocky formula film; it was extremely well made and I loved it. If you haven’t heard of Alone, you’re likely not alone (ha!). It could be easily be classified as a ridiculous schlocky formula film however this little film is also extremely well made. Steven Spielberg began his directorial carrier with a film called Duel – a man chased by a crazy truck driver. Alone is something along the same lines. I don’t really want to get into the details because I don’t want to spoil any of the fun. I will say this, I sat riveted by pretty simple stuff. Director John Hyams seems to have a very good grasp on how to create suspense. The hateful-fearful chemistry between Jules Willcox(Jessica) and ‎Marc Menchaca (The Man) is something to behold. Alone is simply the best thriller I’ve seen in 2020. Catch it on streaming services.

Schitt's Creek

If you had told me that a CBC half hour comedy would almost bring me to tears about two gay men sharing a first kiss in a car, I would have said your head is full of sand. But it did. I nearly wept over Dan Levey’s characters David Rose and Patrick Brewer exchanging romantic firsts in a car outside of the Rosebud Motel. A CBC comedy worth my time to blog about – not in your wildest dreams my friends. That would never happen. And then I watched Schitt’s Creek. And now we are here. Dan and Eugene Levy co-created this wonderful little show and it has brought millions of people joy, especially those just discovering it during the pandemic. It’s not roll out of your seat funny, but it put a smile on my face every episode and over time I grew to love these characters. It’s worth your time. Here is Wikipedia’s list of all the awards Schitt’s Creek has won: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_Schitt%27s_Creek

 

With no place to travel to these days, Schitt’s Creek is a place you will want to visit. Catch it on CBC Gem or Netflix.

Palm Springs

I've always enjoyed Andy Samberg. I've delighted in his hilarious SNL musical videos and I've always appreciated his oddball goofy humour but I can't say I've loved any of Andy Samberg movies; that is until now. I flipped on Palm Springs on a whim because my wife likes romantic comedies and I thought, why not. Pandemic viewing has set the bar low. So I had no idea of the fun I was about to get into. I didn't really know the premise except there was a wedding going on in Palm Springs and Andy plays Nyles, boyfriend of the Bride's friend. Nyles ends up having a relationship with the bride's sister, Sarah, played by Cristin Milioti. That's all I knew going in. I'm reluctant to tell you more. So, spoiler alert. If you leave this review now, I will guarantee you will have more fun going in cold. But read on if you must. What's going here. It's Groundhog Day as if you walked into the middle of that movie. Nyles has been living in his time-loop day for a long long time and he knows the ins and outs of this wedding and all the players in it. It's truly a lot of fun and Samberg and Milioti have great on screen chemistry. J. K. Simmons plays the bad guy and his is wonderful as he always is.
Catch this delightful film streaming on Hulu.

Homecoming

I feel like this show was created by an A.I. that targeted everything I have ever loved in film. More specifically, the films of the 1970s and 80s and the work of Brian De Palma. Homecoming, although set in the present, feels like it was made by time travelers. Films like All the President’s Men, The Exorcist, Body Double, John Carpenter’s The Thing, Rosemary’s Baby, Don’t Look Now, all came to my mind while I watched Homecoming with utter glee. It was’t just the split screens and the amazing credit sequences but it was the music, which Homecoming liberally borrows from the films I previously mentioned, which made me love this series. The music was as enthralling as it was nostalgic and it plugged my ear into my heart. What’s it all about? Julia Roberts plays a counselor for American vets just back from a tour of duty in the Middle East. She works at a facility called Geist where something odd is going on, something not on the level; a mystery. I've always liked Julia Roberts, but in this series, I loved Julia Roberts; probably more than anything else I've seen her in. She is simply fantastic. I don't want to spoil it by saying anything more. The rest of the cast is also fabulous. From start to finish, it was perfect. They have released a second season and I'm very reluctant to watch it because it would be like watching JAWS 2. It just can't be as good as the first. Homecoming is tremendous fun. I LOVED IT. Catch it on Amazon Prime.

Little Fires Everywhere

The innate bitchiness of Reese Witherspoon - let's talk. Since I first laid eyes on her with Mathew Broderick in Election, I've loved to hate her. She has a knack for picking roles about wealthy white overachieving women who you detest; she is really good at playing them. She was great in Big Little Lies and she is great in Little Fires Everywhere, her latest A-type bitch role. What's it all about? It's based on Celeste Ng's book of the same title. It's about  Elena Richardson (Witherspoon), mother of four, who never fulfilled her dreams because she had too many kids but puts on the facade that everything in her life is perfect. In walks Mia Warren (played by Kerry Washington) and her teenage daughter, Pearl. Mia is an artist with a mysterious past. Mia gets a part time job as a waitress at a Chinese restaurant and she discovers her co-worker left her baby one desperate night at a fire station. The baby ended up in the arms of white failed-fertility couple who just happens to be good friends of the Richardsons. Mia sets out to get the baby back for her co-worker. That's all I want to tell you. There is a lot going here. The show is about motherhood, it's about race relations, white privilege, coming-of-age experiences, gay love, and even poses the question, what is art? Lots and lots of stuff for only 8 episodes of an hour each. The entire cast is marvelous and the whole show is riveting. It's one of the most thought provoking series I've watched in a while and it gets my highest recommendation. My wife loved it too. Catch it on Amazon.