ACTION

Dune

It’s better if you know the story going in, but it can be understood by the unread. Great worldbuilding and production design.

Godzilla vs. Kong

Fun CGI monster battles that look good. Plot exists only to bring the monsters together.

Squid Game

Breakout hit of the year. 456 deeply indebted people fight each other for a cash prize by playing deadly versions of children’s games. What’s “really going on” is slowly revealed over Season 1, but there are plenty of mysteries left for Season 2.

No Time to Die

Caps an impressive run of Daniel Craig Bond films with a solid conclusion to his arc.

COMEDY

Only Murders in the Building

Martin Short and Steve Martin are back! Both play characters that are tailored to their unique comic legacies. Immediately interesting and remains so for the entire season.

Reservation Dogs Season 1

I have no reservations about recommending this gem. Starts out very fun, but there is a sadness permeating the show that brings it to a surprisingly emotional conclusion. Similar in tone to creator Taika Waititi’s “Hunt for the Wilderpeople”.

Search Party

Dark comedy starring deeply flawed individuals in somewhat absurd situations. No heroes here, but plenty of laughs.

Upload

This off-beat workplace comedy is about uploading people to cloud resorts, where their experiences differ according to their wealth. Upload playfully explores the divide between the promise of digital abundance and the ways greed drags the internet into the mud.

DRAMA

Dopesick

Brings the Oxycontin crisis home. Grounded stories are woven together to tell the tale of the Sackler family’s pursuit of profits über alles. Too heavy to binge but worth watching an episode or two at a time.

Pig

An indie film about the ways we respond to loss. Nicholas Cage works best when he is directed by someone with a strong vision and a good script.

King Richard

One can’t help but root for the man from Compton who wanted better for his children. Will Smith and the actors who portray young Venus and Serena are charismatic and relatable. Feel-good movie about overcoming adversity as a family. All hail King Richard!

Impeachment / American Crime Story

Soapy dramatization of the Lewinsky scandal. Great for millennials like me who weren’t interested in politics at the time. The story centers on Monica and goes beyond objectification to make her real — flaws and all. Sarah Paulson as Linda Tripp is the highlight of the series.

Mare of Easttown

A gritty, realistic look at what it means to “be someone” in a small town. Easttown is about Mare, her family, and how her pursuit of justice impacts her community.

Judas and the Black Messiah

Fred Hampton and his Chicago chapter of the Black Panther Party were targeted by law enforcement in the ’60s. Fred’s message was about poverty and class in addition to race. Nuanced performances by Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield underscore a surprisingly current biopic.

1883

If you enjoyed playing Oregon Trail, then you will love this dramatization. There is an incredible amount of action in this series. Harrowing experiences like Cholera, snake bites, river crossings, bandit attacks, and starvation are presented within the context of well-defined characters and their journey to find freedom in the West.

DOCUMENTARY

15 Minutes of Shame

The subjects of this film have all had their worst moment become the one thing the world knows about them. Dealing with sudden infamy is alienating and ruinous. Produced by Monica Lewinsky, Shame asks viewers to consider the humanity of the internet’s most attacked villains.

30 for 30 / Breakaway

Maya Moore is a hero twice over. She led dynasties to championships on the basketball court and then walked away prematurely to fight for justice in the courtroom. Her character and authenticity shine throughout this uplifting and inspiring film.

LuLaRich

Nothing is more interesting to me than crime. Especially white-collar crime like “multi-level marketing”. The entrepreneurs interviewed in this film were defrauded by LuLaRoe. Pass this along to the ambitious people in your life, so they can steer clear of similar schemes.

Power On: The Story of Xbox

Entertaining behind-the-scenes interviews spanning 20 years of Xbox. There’s an episode on the “red ring of death” for anyone who remembers those dark times.

Nov 22 pop/21\rex