While we always feel like we’re running out of things to catch-up on, we’re always proven wrong. Lots of great stuff for you to stream or see on-demand or digitally right now and here are some recommendations!
We adored Season One of this darkly-funny Thriller-Comedy Series. While it takes a bit longer to get into it again here in Season Two, the powerful chemistry between a perfectly-paired Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini who reprise heir roles as Jen and Judy, reminds us once again why we fell in love the first time. The Duo cope with their dark secret and grief in their own different ways, navigating on their own terms, until things reach a boiling point as Steve’s (James Marsden) disappearance must be accounted for. We wonder what happens if the dark truth ever comes to light. Believe me, there’s plenty still to go on for a third season and we loved that Marsden resurfaces in the least likely plot twist ever!
MRS. AMERICA (HULU)
I cannot possibly praise this Series any more than I continue to on Social Media. This Toronto-made Series set in the ’70s, follows closely two sides of the Equal Rights Movement and all the key figures involved. The one side who wants to preserve a woman’s right to stay at home, led by Phyllis Schlafly (Cate Blanchett). The other side progressive, trying to get the ERA ratified, led by among others the likes of Gloria Steinem (Rose Byrne). Each week in this nine-episode Series focuses on a different central character as the fight progresses and believe me, this is like a Master’s Class in acting with standouts including Sarah Paulson as Alice Macray, Margo Martindale as Bella Abzug, Tracey Ullman as Betty Friedan, Uzo Aduba as Shirley Chisholm and Ari Graynor as Brenda Feigen-Fasteau. This Series mesmerizes and enrages us at once, which is what it is supposed to do as America is “made great again” right now. Most of all, Blanchett once again is phenomenal, tough as nails with the occasional glimpse of vulnerability. In fact, we love to hate Phyllis as she is undeniable. We cannot keep our eyes off of Byrne. Please God, let there be a Season Two! You can catch this on F/X Wednesday nights at 10 PM in Canada, or download off Apple or Google Play Store, where you would be ahead a few weeks if you pay as little as $2.99 per episode. Worth every penny.
We were willing to pay to see this in theatres, however COVID-19 brought Paramount‘s The Lovebirds straight to us on Netflix sooner. Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani are fantastic together in this Adventure-Comedy. The Film centers around Leilani (Rae) and Jibran (Nanjiani) who start off falling blissfully in love. Cut-ahead a few years, they are feuding and on the verge of contemplating a split. They find themselves at the center of a homicide investigation and are on-the-run from the police landing in all sorts of unpredictability, including the threat of getting bacon grease poured allover them, to a sex cult gathering. The laughs are endless with Leilani‘s no-nonsense approach and Jibran‘s hilarious curiosities about the world popping-up at the most tonally-inappropriate moments. This was loads of fun and cute!
Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon. Mic drop. You can’t go wrong with these two together acting and now producing. Witherspoon as an Executive Producer, continues to deliver us compelling stories in the female voice, tracing back to GONE GIRL, BIG LITTLE LIES to THE MORNING SHOW. Little Fires Everywhere, adapted from Celeste Ng’s best-selling Novel, is no different. Set in the mid-90s, Elena (Witherspoon) once was an emerging Reporter and now a mother with a picture-perfect home. Mia (Washington) and her daughter Pearl (Lexi Underwood) arrive in Elena‘s town and she offers help renting-out her property to them and welcomes them into her home. From here, some dark secrets which Mia is harbouring from her past are uncovered, which not even her daughter knows about. This is an interesting study about race and class at a time we might have had less awareness, but also, the great divides that can occur under one roof even. Tensions mount when we realize Elena and Mia‘s worlds intersect on a deeper level and they find themselves on two sides of the matter while their families become intertwined.
We admit we couldn’t stop giggling at its Trailer and THE WRONG MISSY really turned out to be just right for us! We needed a good laugh. The Comedy is a throwback to the ’90s and the many over-the-top Physical Comedies which defined that era in Film. David Spade and Lauren Lapkus are delightfully-funny as an odd couple. Spade’s Tim is level-headed and believes he knows exactly what he wants in life until he mistakenly invites the wrong girl he went on a disastrous date with, to a business trip on a resort. Missy (Lapkus) is in-your-face, overbearing and way aggressive, but before he knows it, she might just be exactly what he needed! We could watch this many times. It’s ridiculous and we all need a bit of that. We need more Lapkus!
Since surfacing in 1995, Paul Verhoeven‘s Showgirls has gained cult status, but not quite for the gritty Drama it was intended to be. I for one, love it! It is a visual spectacle full of senselessness which keeps us guessing why things happen or their exact significance. Jeffrey McHale’s YOU DON’T NOMI takes a look at how Showgirls, while panned universally, has found new life being appreciated for its unintentional humour and we trace its journey from a theatrical release to now even its star Elizabeth Berkley embracing its new life recently despite distancing herself from it for many years. We get lots of insight from Adam Nayman, Author of It Doesn’t Suck: Showgirls, who sheds some light onto why the Film has been misunderstood. He went from fearing cease and desist orders from MGM, to being welcomed to commentate on the Film’s re-release now that the Studio has come also to embrace the repurposing of the NC-17 Film. We missed this at Inside Out last year, and enjoyed catching-up on this, available June 16, 2020 on-demand and digitally.
Official Sundance selection THE ASSISTANT from Director/Writer Kitty Green gives us an intimate glimpse into a day in the life of a young and recently-hired Assistant to a powerful Executive. Ozark‘s Julia Garner stars and once again is superb here. What makes the Film interesting is that even without us ever seeing the said Executive on-screen, what we makes this compelling is how her Co-Workers and even Human Resources act and react with misconduct being so deeply-institutionalized in this workplace. Even when Garner’s Jane tries to do the right thing, she isn’t supported and that makes this Film heartbreaking as surely this can’t be altogether untrue in the real world we live in. This is available now digitally and on-demand.
If like me you’re fascinated by Michelle Obama, this is a Documentary for you. BECOMING traces Michelle Obama‘s rise as one of the most powerful thought leaders and personalities in the world as she promotes her eponymous Memoir on-the-road. We get insight from those around her who work closely with her and the relationships she has with them. President Obama also appears to speak as a doting husband and even her brother Craig Robinson comments what it’s like being overshadowed by his little sister, when she was the one living in his shadows growing-up. The Film only gets as personal as it wants to, which is unfortunate, but we still get a good snapshot of this great woman and while being adored widely, how even she has her share of naysayers.
I honestly despised this show and pretty much all the contestants, but miraculously I made it through. I don’t mind a bit of shallow, mindless fun once in a while, but it should come with purpose or us being able to witness real growth for these self-proclaimed “10 out of 10s”. The nine-episode Reality Series puts a bunch of “hot” singles together on a resort where they are to abstain from sex. Some succeed and some just basically suck! They did whip-up a follow-up episode catching-up with the contestants to see how they are doing during COVID-19 and if these relationships formed during taping are lasting. Just checking. Yep, still can’t stand them.
In a similar vein to Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, TV legend Ryan Murphy re-invents a moment in Hollywood’s Golden Age. The seven episode Mini-Series centers around some of the complicated relationships a group of young actors have as they set-out to stamp a name for themselves in Hollywood in the early ’50s. The Series is hyper-sexualized and some my take offence to this angle in its tone as it’s only mid-way through the Series that our attentions are taken away from this. Everything culminates in Awards Season as a fictional Film named Meg is created, defying conventional casting at the time, making us wonder what Hollywood today would’ve been if its predecessors had dared to defy convention. While HOLLYWOOD takes a few too many liberties, none can take anything away from some of its fantastic performances from the likes of Darren Criss as aspiring Filmmaker Raymond Ainsley, Dylan McDermott as Gas Station Owner/Pimp Ernie West, Laura Harrier as Actress Camille Washington, Holland Taylor as Studio Executive/Actor Mentor Ellen Kincaid, Jim Parsons as Talent Agent Henry Willson, Patti LuPone as the Studio Head’s Wife Avis Amberg and David Corenswet as aspiring Actor Jack Castello.
Toronto’s Maitreyi Ramakrishnan makes a star-marking turn in this Mindy Kaling-produced and co-written Coming-of-Age Series. We meet 15-year-old Devi (Ramakrishnan), who is both coping with losing her ability to walk and also the loss of her father Mohan (Sendhil Ramamurthy). We meet also her mother Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan), whom she has a strained relationship with. Devi is eager to shed her geek status and garner the attention of her crush Paxton (Darren Barnet) and also contend with her arch nemesis Ben (Jared Lewison). While over much of the ten episodes, Devi grates on our nerves with her teen angst and sexual frustration, the Series does become something deeper as a contemplation of loss, plus its emotional aftermath and also what it means to grapple with your identity when your family are immigrants. We applaud Kaling for giving a voice to kids who don’t always feel like they fit in.
Coming to Netflix later this week are eagerly-anticipated SPACE FORCE starring Steve Carell and JEFFREY EPSTEIN: FILTHY RICH. THE HIGH NOTE starring Dakota Johnson also will see a digital/on-demand release. Reviews to come.
We saw the sneak peak stills, here’s a first look at the new Trailer for HOLLYWOOD, from Ryan Murphy!
Synopsis:
What if you could rewrite the story?
HOLLYWOOD follows a group of aspiring actors and filmmakers in post-World War II Hollywood as they try to make it in Tinseltown — no matter the cost. Each character offers a unique glimpse behind the gilded curtain of Hollywood’s Golden Age, spotlighting the unfair systems and biases across race, gender and sexuality that continue to this day.
Provocative and incisive, HOLLYWOOD exposes and examines decades-old power dynamics, and what the entertainment landscape might look like if they had been dismantled. HOLLYWOOD stars David Corenswet as Jack, Darren Criss as Raymond, Jeremy Pope as Archie, Laura Harrier as Camille, Samara Weaving as Claire, Dylan McDermott as Ernie, Holland Taylor as Ellen Kincaid, Patti LuPone as Avis, Jim Parsons as Henry Willson, Jake Picking as Rock Hudson, Joe Mantello as Dick, and Maude Apatow as Henrietta.
See the Trailer:
HOLLYWOOD streams Friday, May 1, 2020 on Netflix.
(Photo/video credit: Netflix)
This looks amazing! Check-out these just-released stills from Ryan Murphy‘s HOLLYWOOD, coming soon to Netflix.
Synopsis:
A new limited series from Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, HOLLYWOOD follows a group of aspiring actors and filmmakers in post-World War II Hollywood as they try to make it in Tinseltown — no matter the cost. Each character offers a unique glimpse behind the gilded curtain of Hollywood’s Golden Age, spotlighting the unfair systems and biases across race, gender and sexuality that continue to this day. Provocative and incisive, HOLLYWOOD exposes and examines decades-old power dynamics, and what the entertainment landscape might look like if they had been dismantled. HOLLYWOOD stars David Corenswet as Jack, Darren Criss as Raymond, Jeremy Pope as Archie, Laura Harrier as Camille, Samara Weaving as Claire, Dylan McDermott as Ernie, Holland Taylor as Ellen Kincaid, Patti LuPone as Avis, Jim Parsons as Henry Willson, Jake Picking as Rock Hudson, Joe Mantello as Dick, and Maude Apatow as Henrietta.
See new Stills:
HOLLYWOOD streams on Netflix Friday, May 1, 2020.
(Photo credit: Netflix)
Our four days in Los Angeles were nothing short of magical and our visit couldn’t have come any sooner, as we desperately needed a break from these winter blahs in Toronto! This Awards Season has been the most unpredictable ever I must say, but whether you’re a fan of GREEN BOOK, ROMA, A STAR IS BORN, THE FAVOURITE, BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK or BLACK PANTHER, chances are you had to have been happy that these Films at some point along the way were recognized with awards!
While we admit this was probably our most tiring trip to the land of the stars, it definitely was the most rewarding. I’m proud of my experiences and love to share them. Meeting my idols is something I always have loved to do and will continue to for a long time! Check-out some of our Selfies from our star-studded visit to Los Angeles!
We’re saddened we couldn’t find Olivia Colman as we’ve wanted to meet her for a long time now, but how can one complain with these many blessings?
Rami Malek – OSCAR Winner!
Glenn Close
Regina King – OSCAR Winner!
Gemma Chan
Fiona Xie
Chris Pang
Bobby Farrelly – Oscar Winner!
Nick Vallelonga – OSCAR Winner!
Brian Hayes Currie – Oscar Winner!
Mahershala Ali – OSCAR Winner!
Yalitza Aparicio
Linda Cardellini
Viggo Mortensen
Allen Leech
Ben Hardy
Gwilym Lee
Roger May
Lucy Boynton
Eli Roth
Carey Mulligan
Taron Egerton
Amber Heard
Liam Hemsworth
Rebel Wilson
Adam Devine
Annie Starke
Ava Duvernay
Holland Roden
Colton Haynes
Alex Pettyfer
Jessica Roth
Josh Gad
Michael Bay
Thomasin McKenzie
Anthony Anderson
Connie Britton
But our favourite pic of all? This shot of us on this A Star is Born Billboard for Lady Gaga‘s ALLY outside Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard! Don’t worry, it wasn’t as high as it looks!
And we always enjoy our dining experiences in Los Angeles, whether it be their staple burger chain IN-N-OUT BURGER which I always make time for. Next time you visit, you must check-out The Butcher, The Baker and The Cappuccino Maker. This is the new it-spot for brunch on Sunset Boulevard. Their Mimosa Flights are a must-try as is their gorgeous Colorburst Latte! Their Eggs Benedict with Avocado and Pork Belly is the best we’ve had. EVER. We hear this place is a celeb hotspot and saw it with our own eyes! Eli Roth tells us he enjoyed his brunch a lot.
Hover cursor right below to navigate the slideshow:
An institution since the ’80s and a huge favourite of the Kardashian family, CHIN CHIN is set to bring California-inspired Chinese cuisine to Toronto in a couple weeks with its first location ever in Canada, near Rogers Centre. We love their Orange Chicken, Chin Chin Chinese Chicken Salad, Wonton Stars (crab-filled) and Crispy Spicy Honey Shrimp. Traditional American-Chinese flavours and a West Coast freshness.
Do not forget to check-out our coverage of the Blue Carpet at the Film Independent Spirit Awards right here!
Until the next trip!
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
We were in L.A. this past weekend and although our reason to visit was the 2016 BREEDERS’ CUP at Santa Anita Park, we always make time for the stars. We even met culinary master Bobby Flay at the championship races and saw one of our faves Elizabeth Banks, both Ambassadors for the event.
We’re completely exhausted from the trip but finally had a quick minute to share some of our Selfies. Two events were going on around town that night, the GO FOUNDATION GALA in Downtown L.A. benefiting under-privileged children. While Katy Perry and Kate Hudson attended last year, this year we had chair Robert Pattinson attend and he was a great sport, staying right to the end! We’ve met him a few times and he is gracious when time and security permits and fortunately it was a low-key situation. At the Fox Theatre the same night was the Premiere for Oscar Contender, FENCES, directed by Academy Award winner Denzel Washington. He stars in the Drama alongside Viola Davis, based on the Broadway play which saw him win a Tony!
We also saw Mel Gibson, Andrew Garfield and Vince Vaughn at a screening for HACKSAW RIDGE, but the photos were a no-go. Sad, but fine.
See our Snaps!
Elizabeth Banks
Bobby Flay
A photo posted by Mr. Will Wong 📸 (@mrwillwong) on
Julia Ormond
Chad Lowe
With #ChadLowe at the #GoGala.
A photo posted by Mr. Will Wong 📸 (@mrwillwong) on
Robert Pattinson
Denzel Washington
A photo posted by Mr. Will Wong 📸 (@mrwillwong) on
Just take it okay, guys? ✔ Until next visit!
(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)
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