Another wintry weekend here in the mountainsāand so close to spring! Of course, what that means is that itās a perfect weekend for curling up with a good book, firing up a video game, sitting down at a table to play board games or D&D orāand more to the point for this guideāwatch a new show or movie!
See my streaming guide from last weekend here.
If youāre in sunnier climes, you might be less inclined to Netflix and chill, so go hit the dusty trail, get your sweat on (I did hot yoga and sweat more than I thought even possible) and then kick back with a new show or movie.
Be warned, other than a couple ongoing shows thereās not a ton of new stuff out this weekend. But there is one movie I canāt help but be morbidly curious about. Weāll start there!
New This Weekend
Weāll begin our new releases with . . . .
Irish Wish (Netflix)
Lindsay Lohan makes her grand return to film after many years out of the publicās eye in Irish Wish, a rom-com set in lovely Ireland, one of my very favorite places in the whole entire world. I think Iād much rather sit at a pub drinking whiskey with some Irish old-timers listening to the rain on the shingles and to the grouchy old men argue playfully with the middle-aged women behind the bar. And yes, Iām describing a day I once spent on the edge of Connemara National Park. We had planned to go hiking but it rained so hardāliterally sideways raināthat we just got drunk with the locals instead. And itās genuinely one of my fondest memories. I have a morbid curiosity about this very bad-looking Lohan movie, but I think Iād rather just relive that day in my mind instead. I can still hear one of the old-timers referring to his wife as āthe dragon lady.ā Now thereās a movie we need: The Dragon Lady. Onward . . . .
Apples Never Fall (Peacock)
Based on Liane Moriartyās novel (the author of Big Little Lies as well), Peacockās new limited series Apples Never Fall probably should have been scooped up by Apple instead. I hope Apple makes a Peacock show in retaliation. This one has a decent cast, led by Sam Neill and Annette Bening and deals with mystery and dark family secrets and all that fun stuff, but the reviews are rather less than enthusiastic. Itās faring even worse on Rotten Tomatoes than Irish Wish! (43% vs 46% so not a big gap).
Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV (Max)
Another very intriguing documentary on Max, Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV digs deep into the predatory and abusive crap that went on at Nickelodeon and focuses a lot on Dan Schneider who was the powerhouse behind a lot of the networkās biggest hits. Itās a two-part series that airs back-to-back on March 17th and 18th and should be quite revealing. (The last time I included a Max documentary in one of these guides was for the fascinating Telemarketers).
Madame Web (Rent Or Buy on Amazon)
If someone wants to buy me this Iāll review it but Iām not spending $20 bucks to rent what is quite possibly the worst superhero movie ever made. But hey, itās out now on VOD so . . . you can see what all the fuss is about! Star Dakota Johnson said of the film: “Unfortunately, I’m not surprised that this has gone down the way it has. Itās so hard to get movies made, and in these big movies that get made ā and itās even starting to happen with the little ones, which is whatās really freaking me out ā decisions are being made by committees, and art does not do well when itās made by committee.”
In Theaters
I like to include new theatrical releases as well since going to the movies is fun and I want the industry to last because it was touch-and-go there for a minute during the pandemic, and I just donāt want to live in a world without movie theaters. Here are a couple new ones.
The American Society Of Magical Negroes
This had such an interesting premiseāand bold title!ābut critics are calling it underwhelming and somehow itās faring even worse on Rotten Tomatoes than the new Lindsay Lohan movie. What a bummer. Still, check out the trailer. It might be worth seeingāthough it might also be worth waiting to stream. I loved Justice Smith in Dungeons & Dragons so I was hoping this would be a hit.
Arthur The King
Mark Wahlberg stars as a long-distance runner on this insanely long run who is accompanied by a stray dog he names Arthur. It looks like one of those wholesome, heart-warming dog movies that will probably make you cry. Itāll almost definitely make me cry because I cry all the time at movies. Always have, always will.
Recent And Ongoing Shows & Movies
Damsel (Netflix)
Not Eleven from Stranger Things, but still Millie Bobby Brown finding herself in an upside down fantasy world with monsters. I keep meaning to watch this but it just looks so cheesy.
The Gentlemen (Netflix)
Still on my list to startāTheo James was so great in The White Lotus and this looks very fun. I like some of Guy Ritchieās stuff. Heās hit or miss. But Iāve had plenty of readers tell me they like this one so I will give it a shot (though I didnāt see the movie itās spun off of, so maybe I should watch that first).
Wonka (Max)
Just a reminder that Wonka is on Max. It dropped a week ago. I like the original film so much I just donāt really care about a prequel. Everyone Iāve talked to says itās fine. Just fine. Nothing more, nothing less.
Ricky Stanicky (Prime)
My friends who have seen this had fun with it. Good old-fashioned stupid comedy. Critics like it about as much as the new Lindsay Lohan movie. Audiences like it a lot more. Thatās usually the case with good, dumb fun movies like this.
American Fiction (MGM+)
Gentle reminder to self: Watch American Fiction Erik! This looks so good and I keep forgetting. Iāve been busy. My puppy has been sick. I have teenagers. What I really need to do is set a reminder on my phone to read my own what to stream guides. Though I also have huge lists of films and shows to watch and I have been catching up on them.
Shogun (FX / Hulu)
You can read my review of the series premiere right here. I was planning on weekly reviews but life has just been too hectic. I will try to get to it this week. Shogun is terrific so far. I really, genuinely enjoy it (as a non-book reader) and I canāt recommend it highly enough.
The Regime (HBO / Max)
Yep, still havenāt started this. Itās getting mixed reviews but I adore Kate Winslet so I need to give it a go. I love some dark humor and dystopian fiction mixed with political shenanigans, so it seems right up my alley. Can I please have more time? I didnāt even get started writing today because I made myself go to hot yoga and run errands first thing but then when I got home it was like one little micro-disaster after another (dog throw up in like four different spots, all of which were rugs or dog-beds despite my entire house being wood floors, etc. etc. etc.) Yes, Iām venting to you about dog vomit in a streaming guide. Thatās what you get when you read my stuff. A bunch of crap!
Resident Alien (Peacock)
Alan Tudyk is amazing. Watch this on Netflix if you havenāt yet. Then sign up for Peacock to watch Season 3. Just a wonderfully charming and funny show with great characters and a fun alien plot.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (AMC)
Iāve been keeping up with The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live because I have a contractual obligation with the devil himself to always review every TWD show ever for eternity. Just getting a bit of hell out of the way before I eventually end up thereākind of like taking AP tests to get college credit. Itās been pretty good. Episode 2 was great. Episode 3 was fine. Just fine. The premise is pretty stupid but Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira are doing a great job and the production values are top-notch.
Other recommendations and pieces Iāve written recently:
- The 5 Biggest Problems With Dune Part 2
- Why you need to watch Resident Alien now that itās on Netflix.
- Why you need to watch this excellent Australian mystery Deadloch.
- A whole list of great mystery shows I highly recommend.
- How The Walking Dead lost its way.
What are you watching this weekend? Did I miss anything? Let me know on Twitter and Facebook.