Weekly Streaming Recap: Week of April 1st, 2022

Moon Knight Episode 1 (Disney+): Moon Knight
really hits the ground running with an interesting introduction to Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) who has a plan that is reminiscent of Hydra’s plan in Captain America: The Winter Soldier to stop the evils of the world before they happen. Oscar Isaac’s Marc Spector/Moon Knight/Steven Grant all feel like unique characters, down to facial tics and mannerisms. The voice of Khonshu during the episode is great comedic relief and the way that the show illustrates Grant losing time whenever Marc Spector takes over his body makes for an interesting visual style. In all, Moon Knight is the strongest of the Disney+ Marvel Studios shows which probably has something to do with the fact that it has the least to do with the Marvel Cinematic Universe at large.

The Dropout Episodes 5, 6, and 7 (Hulu): As The Dropout moves into its final episode this coming week, the show has yet to explain why Elizabeth fell into the fraud in the first place. The first instance of the fraud is clearly illustrated early on when they fudged the test during the presentation to AstraZeneca, however the fact that the origin of the fraud is in that moment, it is possible to make the case that the fraud that permeated Theranos the whole time was based in the desire to properly build the Edison testing machines. Kurtwood Smith, Sam Waterston, William H. Macy, and Laurie Metcalf’s expanded roles all do wonders for the show and make the investigation aspects interesting to watch.

The Girl From Plainville Episodes 1, 2, and 3 (Hulu): Ellie Fanning continues to prove herself to be a great acting talent as she takes on the role of Michelle Carter, the girl at the center of the suicide of Conrad Roy. The show does an excellent job of illustrating why Michelle provoked Conrad’s suicide, including a disturbing scene at the end of the first episode of her quoting and practicing a speech from Glee about loss and grief. It is such a great performance for Fanning that the show is watchable, even knowing what is going to happen in this highly publicized case.

It is also worth noting that Liz Hannah is having an excellent few months after writing and executive producing both The Girl From Plainville and The Dropout. If one likes these two shows, they should check out her other work like The Post, Long Shot, and Mindhunter.

You May Have Missed:

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (HBOMax and Peacock): As the release date for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore moves closer, it is worth revisiting where the prequel franchise got its start. The first of these movies takes place almost entirely in New York and offers a new and broader look at the world of Harry Potter. The movie has its share of problems with pacing, tonal dissonance from scene to scene, and trying to fit a ton of exposition into a two-hour movie, but it is still the more entertaining of the two released so far. The ending reveal (spoilers, but it’s been six years) that Graves is really Grindelwald feels like an odd choice because it really raises semantic questions about what strange choices he will make to attempt to capture an Obscurus and how is it possible that this is the best way to go about doing that. It’s also some of the most transparent symbolism in the franchise where Creedence’s tamped down magical abilities causing the Obscurus is definitely designed to be an allegory for those who are not comfortable to come out to their family and the Second Salemers are thinly veiled Christian extremists. That said, if you ever wanted to see Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne mimic a fictional mating dance to try and entice a magical rhino into a suitcase in the middle of the Central Park Zoo, this is the movie for you. Considering it came out the same year as Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, at least it was not as bad as that.

Star Wars: Tempest Runner (Script Book): Originally, Cavan Scott’s latest entry into the Star Wars canon was released as a full cast performed audioplay on Audible, however there were some semantic issues that plagued the performance that made it hard to listen to. Namely, this is a part of the publishing initiative known as The High Republic set 200 years before Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and the play is told over two competing timelines. Unlike Dooku: Jedi Lost, Scott’s first audioplay, the same actress plays both old and young Lourna Dee which makes keeping track of the story’s plot a little confusing. The physical book is a lot easier to read and keep track of, so it is worth checking out. It is worth noting that it is a script book so it is formatted as a script and not a novel.

Marvel fans, tickets for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness go on sale April 6th, a full month before the movie is released on May 6th. Get ready to wait in a virtual queue for an unholy amount of time to get tickets if one is so inclined to see it in its opening weekend.