Next in the Queue (Memorial Day Weekend) - Barry, John Wick, Booksmart, DCTV
Thank you everyone who supported and read our first week of content! It means a lot to us and we were thrilled with the results. Of course we plan on continuing to bring expanded and refreshing material to look out for. For a quick pitch of "Next in the Queue," this segment will be a dedicated rundown of recent TV and movie releases that we've watched from weekly shows, to new on streaming, and what just dropped in theaters. Giving quick and concise thoughts with a recommendation if it's worth your time. There's so much out there as we are in the age of Peak TV so we can't watch everything and if there is anything we missed that you recommend please comment and let us know!
Traditionally, Memorial Day one of the most jam-packed weekends for new movies and TV finale season. As a result, I apologize ahead of time if this gets a bit lengthy. FYI, I'm sorry for not getting to "Aladdin" this weekend since the marketing was bleh but I'm hearing good things so go check it out if you're a fan of the animated version! Here we go!:
Movies:
John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum - Keanu Reeves is a national treasure and John Wick is his best roll in a long time, the man hasn't missed a shot in three movies! The third installment is one of, if not the best pure action franchises today, and doesn't disappoint. Director Chad Stahelski and team going above and beyond to give us the best action scenes of the year. Joining Reeves once again are badasses Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, and Laurence Fishburne (c'mon Carrie Anne-Moss) along with newcomer Halle Berry who steps up to Wick's level with help from her two good boi's. We'll have a longer review but if you're a fan of action or puppers then John Wick 3, hell the John Wick franchise should be injected into your veins.
Booksmart - Following in the steps of "Dazed and Confused," "Superbad," and "Lady Bird" we have our next great coming-of-age comedy! Olivia Wilde shines in her directorial debut, along with the lead duo of Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein (ironically Jonah Hill's little sister) whose chemistry explodes off the screen. Everyone involved in this film is having so much fun and the feelings infected the audience I was with, laughing from the opening shot until the credits rolled. Wilde bravely doesn't shy away from the hardships of not only being a teenage graduating from high school, but also the hardships of being a young woman at this stage in her life. My only real critique revolves around the fast-pacing as it threw me off quite a bit towards the end. Fair warning, unlike its spiritual cousin "Superbad," Booksmart separates itself with over the top characters and borderline fantastical imagery and a very daring sequence that may seem as a negative to many, but instead makes itself unique. I'm an absolute sucker for coming-of-age movies as we all can relate to them in some way. Please do yourself a favor and go see Booksmart as soon as possible in theaters and keep an extra eye out for scene-stealer Billie Lourd and a certain Panda.
Brightburn - Here's the thing, Superman is my guy through and through. So when I saw the first trailer for an Evil Superman movie that copied and pasted the great "Man of Steel" trailers I was in faster than you could say the word. Starting with the good, Elizabeth Banks turns in one of her best performances playing the mother to main character Brandon and director David Yarovesky does a good job with the concept he is given. On the other side, the 90-minute runtime needs an extra 20-30 added to it as the script doesn't dive into Brandon's psychology as he discovers his powers nor does it delve into any mythology around what he is. A very contained story that has little world-building but at the same time succeeds at being a horrific and (very) graphic depiction of a Superboy character. This is how you keep the comic book genre fresh and mid-credits scene teases a larger world where I would like to see a furthering of a twisted heroes universe. Overall, "Brightburn" is good and exactly as advertised but nothing new or groundbreaking, if you're a huge Supes fan like me go see it but if you're a casual superhero/horror fan than I'd say wait for streaming on this one.
TV:
Barry - The best comedy on TV you need to be watching now. Bill Hader created, writes, directs, and stars as Barry - assassin turned good-guy amateur actor - who is trying to escape his dark past. Every damn episode of HBO's comedy is gold; Hader and team are geniuses. Season 1 not only won Hader an Emmy for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, but standout Henry Winkler for Best Supporting Actor as Barry's flamboyant acting class instructor, Gene Cousineau. I'd be remissed if I didn't mention the best character on TV, NoHo Hank leader of the Chechen mob, played brilliantly by Anthony Carrigan, who better be a shoe-in for Best Supporting come September's Emmy's. Innovative comedy and episodes (especially episode five with the Karate Girl from Hell) continues Barry's incredible run making 8 episodes never enough. Move this show to the top of your to-do list.
Doom Patrol - THE BEST SHOW ON TV NO ONE IS WATCHING. I apologize for the screaming, but I'm yelling into a void being that Doom Patrol exists in the young DC Universe streaming service and I'm the only person I know who owns it. But by god, "Doom Patrol" is unbelievably original, meta, and out of this world weird. The main lineup of this DC D-list team includes; Robotman as voiced by Brendan Fraser (yea he's back), April Bowlby's Elasti-Woman, Jovian Wade's Cyborg, Matt Bomer's Negative Man, and Crazy Jane played by the most impressive Diane Guererro. Also featuring Timothy Dalton and Alan Tudyk as the team mentor and villain, respectively, Doom Patrol is a fully character-driven show where each character has deep and tragic backstories who grow into the best versions of themselves. For context of how weird it gets; Jane has 64 personalities all with different powers, the apocalypse is driven by a cult living in a snow globe, and my favorite episode, of not only this show but 2019 so far, takes place on a living street...yea try to fathom that. Each episode takes a head-on approach to societal issues from LBGT acceptance to mental health with such care. My only big gripe is the excessive use of the F-bomb because the writers like typing the word. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I watch A LOT of shows and this is one I'd push to the top your queue if you ever have the chance.
Arrow - Yea I watch all of the CW DC shows, I'm one of those guys if you haven't noticed by now and it's a lot. Arrow kicked-off the whole universe and season seven, the penultimate season, was middle of the pack. Weak villains and switching out the classic flashbacks for very meh flashforwards weighed the season down. But there are serious highs with the Oliver in prison arc for the first half of the season followed by the deputizing vigilantes in Star City was something we have yet to see in the genre. The surprising departure of Felicity (the 2nd most important character) caught fans by surprise and makes you wonder what the next fall's final season could have in store. When I think of the possibilities I see a totally different show as it leads up to the mega-cross over "Crisis on Infinite Earths" (still in shock I can say those words). It's hard to recommend CW shows since they mandate a way-too-long 23-episode season but I always suggest "Arrow" for it's importance in superhero TV. Absolutely give it a try.
The Flash - The first of four "Arrowverse" spin-offs (Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning) continued to be a weekly delight in its 5th season. Like "Arrow," The Flash too suffers from another weak villain and cast members coming in and out of the show. New addition for the season, Nora, who is Barry and Iris' daughter from the future is played very well and continues the CW motto of hiring very attractive people but is dragged down by inconsistent writing every week. While I still enjoy it, this may be the worst season of Flash but is in store for a hopefully crucial season six. If you're in the market for goodhearted and very fun show, I highly recommend you rush (haha pun) to The Flash (especially the first two seasons).
I promise superheroes aren't the only thing I watch as I'm always busy with 10+ shows per week. So the coming weeks should be more diverse! And remember to check out our weekly Bachelorette recaps every Tuesday evening, if for nothing else but a good laugh.
- Ryan, TGYK
Traditionally, Memorial Day one of the most jam-packed weekends for new movies and TV finale season. As a result, I apologize ahead of time if this gets a bit lengthy. FYI, I'm sorry for not getting to "Aladdin" this weekend since the marketing was bleh but I'm hearing good things so go check it out if you're a fan of the animated version! Here we go!:
Movies:
John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum - Keanu Reeves is a national treasure and John Wick is his best roll in a long time, the man hasn't missed a shot in three movies! The third installment is one of, if not the best pure action franchises today, and doesn't disappoint. Director Chad Stahelski and team going above and beyond to give us the best action scenes of the year. Joining Reeves once again are badasses Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, and Laurence Fishburne (c'mon Carrie Anne-Moss) along with newcomer Halle Berry who steps up to Wick's level with help from her two good boi's. We'll have a longer review but if you're a fan of action or puppers then John Wick 3, hell the John Wick franchise should be injected into your veins.
Booksmart - Following in the steps of "Dazed and Confused," "Superbad," and "Lady Bird" we have our next great coming-of-age comedy! Olivia Wilde shines in her directorial debut, along with the lead duo of Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein (ironically Jonah Hill's little sister) whose chemistry explodes off the screen. Everyone involved in this film is having so much fun and the feelings infected the audience I was with, laughing from the opening shot until the credits rolled. Wilde bravely doesn't shy away from the hardships of not only being a teenage graduating from high school, but also the hardships of being a young woman at this stage in her life. My only real critique revolves around the fast-pacing as it threw me off quite a bit towards the end. Fair warning, unlike its spiritual cousin "Superbad," Booksmart separates itself with over the top characters and borderline fantastical imagery and a very daring sequence that may seem as a negative to many, but instead makes itself unique. I'm an absolute sucker for coming-of-age movies as we all can relate to them in some way. Please do yourself a favor and go see Booksmart as soon as possible in theaters and keep an extra eye out for scene-stealer Billie Lourd and a certain Panda.
Brightburn - Here's the thing, Superman is my guy through and through. So when I saw the first trailer for an Evil Superman movie that copied and pasted the great "Man of Steel" trailers I was in faster than you could say the word. Starting with the good, Elizabeth Banks turns in one of her best performances playing the mother to main character Brandon and director David Yarovesky does a good job with the concept he is given. On the other side, the 90-minute runtime needs an extra 20-30 added to it as the script doesn't dive into Brandon's psychology as he discovers his powers nor does it delve into any mythology around what he is. A very contained story that has little world-building but at the same time succeeds at being a horrific and (very) graphic depiction of a Superboy character. This is how you keep the comic book genre fresh and mid-credits scene teases a larger world where I would like to see a furthering of a twisted heroes universe. Overall, "Brightburn" is good and exactly as advertised but nothing new or groundbreaking, if you're a huge Supes fan like me go see it but if you're a casual superhero/horror fan than I'd say wait for streaming on this one.
TV:
Barry - The best comedy on TV you need to be watching now. Bill Hader created, writes, directs, and stars as Barry - assassin turned good-guy amateur actor - who is trying to escape his dark past. Every damn episode of HBO's comedy is gold; Hader and team are geniuses. Season 1 not only won Hader an Emmy for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, but standout Henry Winkler for Best Supporting Actor as Barry's flamboyant acting class instructor, Gene Cousineau. I'd be remissed if I didn't mention the best character on TV, NoHo Hank leader of the Chechen mob, played brilliantly by Anthony Carrigan, who better be a shoe-in for Best Supporting come September's Emmy's. Innovative comedy and episodes (especially episode five with the Karate Girl from Hell) continues Barry's incredible run making 8 episodes never enough. Move this show to the top of your to-do list.
Doom Patrol - THE BEST SHOW ON TV NO ONE IS WATCHING. I apologize for the screaming, but I'm yelling into a void being that Doom Patrol exists in the young DC Universe streaming service and I'm the only person I know who owns it. But by god, "Doom Patrol" is unbelievably original, meta, and out of this world weird. The main lineup of this DC D-list team includes; Robotman as voiced by Brendan Fraser (yea he's back), April Bowlby's Elasti-Woman, Jovian Wade's Cyborg, Matt Bomer's Negative Man, and Crazy Jane played by the most impressive Diane Guererro. Also featuring Timothy Dalton and Alan Tudyk as the team mentor and villain, respectively, Doom Patrol is a fully character-driven show where each character has deep and tragic backstories who grow into the best versions of themselves. For context of how weird it gets; Jane has 64 personalities all with different powers, the apocalypse is driven by a cult living in a snow globe, and my favorite episode, of not only this show but 2019 so far, takes place on a living street...yea try to fathom that. Each episode takes a head-on approach to societal issues from LBGT acceptance to mental health with such care. My only big gripe is the excessive use of the F-bomb because the writers like typing the word. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I watch A LOT of shows and this is one I'd push to the top your queue if you ever have the chance.
Arrow - Yea I watch all of the CW DC shows, I'm one of those guys if you haven't noticed by now and it's a lot. Arrow kicked-off the whole universe and season seven, the penultimate season, was middle of the pack. Weak villains and switching out the classic flashbacks for very meh flashforwards weighed the season down. But there are serious highs with the Oliver in prison arc for the first half of the season followed by the deputizing vigilantes in Star City was something we have yet to see in the genre. The surprising departure of Felicity (the 2nd most important character) caught fans by surprise and makes you wonder what the next fall's final season could have in store. When I think of the possibilities I see a totally different show as it leads up to the mega-cross over "Crisis on Infinite Earths" (still in shock I can say those words). It's hard to recommend CW shows since they mandate a way-too-long 23-episode season but I always suggest "Arrow" for it's importance in superhero TV. Absolutely give it a try.
The Flash - The first of four "Arrowverse" spin-offs (Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning) continued to be a weekly delight in its 5th season. Like "Arrow," The Flash too suffers from another weak villain and cast members coming in and out of the show. New addition for the season, Nora, who is Barry and Iris' daughter from the future is played very well and continues the CW motto of hiring very attractive people but is dragged down by inconsistent writing every week. While I still enjoy it, this may be the worst season of Flash but is in store for a hopefully crucial season six. If you're in the market for goodhearted and very fun show, I highly recommend you rush (haha pun) to The Flash (especially the first two seasons).
I promise superheroes aren't the only thing I watch as I'm always busy with 10+ shows per week. So the coming weeks should be more diverse! And remember to check out our weekly Bachelorette recaps every Tuesday evening, if for nothing else but a good laugh.
- Ryan, TGYK
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