Weekly Entertainment Recap: Week of January 30th, 2023

Slight note for readers, due to the expansion of what this article includes, the Weekly Streaming Recap will be renamed the Weekly Entertainment Recap.

The Last of Us Episodes 2 and 3 (HBOMax): The way they’re slowly expositing what happened during the actual downfall of humanity is an interesting approach to telling the story rather than being more explicit about it. Across the last two episodes, they have drip-fed an explanation of what happened over the twenty years between where the show began and where they are now which makes for interesting extrapolations that the audience can make. In episode three Nick Offerman of Parks and Recreation makes an excellent case for an Emmy win with his portrayal of Bill in just a beautifully heartbreaking episode that shows that even in the worst of times, people can find ways to make the best of it.

The Bad Batch Episodes 4 and 5 (Disney+): Letting Phee tag along on a mission where the team is exploring the ruins of a pre-Jedi temple is a great idea and makes a great case for an Aphra show either in live action or animation (maybe with Chloe Bennett of Agents of Shield in the lead?). That said, the time scale is a bit wonky with the time scale of Star Wars varying from thousands of years to several hundred thousand years but it’s not the biggest issue but it does make the continuity a little strange if one keeps track of the wider universe in books and comics.

That 90s Show (Netflix): Surprisingly, this legacy sequel is not that bad. That 90s Show takes place 15 years after That 70s Show ended and follows Eric (Topher Grace) and Donna (Laura Prepon)’s daughter Leia (Callie Haverda) as she spends the summer back in Point Place with her grandparents Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) and Red (Kurtwood Smith). The casting for Leia is perfect, combining some of the confidence of Donna with the awkward anxiety of Eric in an entertaining mix and the dynamic with all the new kids in the show is fun to watch. The show has a few laugh-out-loud moments and, at about a half hour an episode, is not a huge time commitment to watch.

National Treasure: Edge of History Episodes 7 and 8 (Disney+): With two episodes left, the show is reaching what seems like an obvious ending. These last two episodes cover a lot of ground, but at the same time not all that much happens considering it is a lot of screen time devoted to drawing out things that could have been a lot quicker and more time could have been spent making the story a little tighter. The characters feel more like humans and less like characters in a TV show to the point where their emotions feel real and based in some type of logic rather than just whatever the plot needs at that moment. That said, the last two episodes are largely going to continue the trend where the episodes are reasonably predictable and not going to do anything too different or unique.

This Week In Theaters:

Knock at the Cabin: M. Night Shymalan’s latest theatrical entry tells the story of a family that is held hostage and told that they have to kill one member of their family to prevent the world from ending. Each time they refuse to kill one of the members, thousands of people die. Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy), Jonathan Groff (Hamilton), and Rupert Grint (Harry Potter) star.

80 For Brady: Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, and Sally Field star as four best friends who embark on a journey to watch Tom Brady play at the 2017 Super Bowl.

Last Week At The Box Office:

Avatar: The Way of Water: $16.0 Million

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish: $10.5 Million

Pathaan: $6.9 Million

A Man Called Otto: $6.7 Million

M3gan: $6.3 Million

Programming Notes:

With the Academy Award nominations being announced last week, local theaters are holding screenings of some of the nominees at discounted rates. The AMC Stony Brook 17 is holding screenings of Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Banshees of Inisherin, Tár, Top Gun: Maverick, Elvis, Triangle of Sadness, Till, Women Talking, and The Fabelmans while Island 16 is holding screenings of The Whale, Women Talking, The Fabelmans, and The Banshees of Inisherin with more to be added throughout the weekend. Throughout the week, select theaters will also be holding screenings of Groundhog Day though Fathom Events, however these are typically excluded from subscription ticket services like AMC A-List, Regal Unlimited, and Showcase Subscribe.