Another wintry weekend here in the mountains—and so close to spring! Of course, what that means is that it’s 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 or—and more to the point for this guide—watch a new show or movie!
See my streaming guide from last weekend here.
If you’re 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 there’s not a ton of new stuff out this weekend. But there is one movie I can’t help but be morbidly curious about. We’ll start there!
New This Weekend
We’ll begin our new releases with . . . .
Irish Wish (Netflix)
Lindsay Lohan makes her grand return to film after many years out of the public’s eye in Irish Wish, a rom-com set in lovely Ireland, one of my very favorite places in the whole entire world. I think I’d 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, I’m describing a day I once spent on the edge of Connemara National Park. We had planned to go hiking but it rained so hard—literally sideways rain—that we just got drunk with the locals instead. And it’s genuinely one of my fondest memories. I have a morbid curiosity about this very bad-looking Lohan movie, but I think I’d rather just relive that day in my mind instead. I can still hear one of the old-timers referring to his wife as “the dragon lady.” Now there’s a movie we need: The Dragon Lady. Onward . . . .
Apples Never Fall (Peacock)
Based on Liane Moriarty’s novel (the author of Big Little Lies as well), Peacock’s 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. It’s 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 network’s biggest hits. It’s 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).
If someone wants to buy me this I’ll review it but I’m not spending $20 bucks to rent what is quite possibly the worst superhero movie ever made. But hey, it’s 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. It’s so hard to get movies made, and in these big movies that get made — and it’s even starting to happen with the little ones, which is what’s really freaking me out — decisions are being made by committees, and art does not do well when it’s 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 don’t 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 premise—and bold title!—but critics are calling it underwhelming and somehow it’s faring even worse on Rotten Tomatoes than the new Lindsay Lohan movie. What a bummer. Still, check out the trailer. It might be worth seeing—though 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. It’ll 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 start—Theo James was so great in The White Lotus and this looks very fun. I like some of Guy Ritchie’s stuff. He’s hit or miss. But I’ve had plenty of readers tell me they like this one so I will give it a shot (though I didn’t see the movie it’s 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 don’t really care about a prequel. Everyone I’ve talked to says it’s 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. That’s 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. I’ve 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 can’t recommend it highly enough.
The Regime (HBO / Max)
Yep, still haven’t started this. It’s 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 didn’t 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, I’m venting to you about dog vomit in a streaming guide. That’s 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 haven’t 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)
I’ve 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 there—kind of like taking AP tests to get college credit. It’s 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 I’ve written recently:
What are you watching this weekend? Did I miss anything? Let me know on Twitter and Facebook.
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