Weekly Streaming Recap: Week of May 20th, 2022

The Time Traveler’s Wife Episodes 1 and 2 (HBOMax): Based on the novel of the same name, The Time Traveler’s Wife is serviceable as a romance, however Steven Moffat’s writing style is tiring at this point and his fingerprints are all over this show. Anyone who watched his tenure on Doctor Who back in the 2010s is going to be familiar with his general inability to write compelling female characters who have a significant role of their own that is not defined by a man in her life, his inability to write high-concept moments that work when thought about for more than three minutes, and snappy dialogue that lacks a unique voice from character to character. In retrospect, a tv show about a woman who is in love with a guy who visits her across time and she waits for him to come back to meet him in the present is exactly the kind of show that fits his writing style. Episode two is when the show starts diving into the deeper, more nuanced science fiction aspects of Henry’s abilities, but even then it still seems not developed enough. The other weird thing is that the relationship between Henry as an adult and the six-year-old version of Clare is creepy, especially considering how he effectively groomed Clare over the course of decades. One should be prepared to be very well acquainted with Theo James’ body by the end of the first episode because when he time travels he leaves his clothes behind Terminator-style, and this happens multiple times an episode.

The Outfit (Peacock): One of 2022’s best movies so far, The Outfit features a small cast and concise storytelling confined entirely within one set. Mark Rylance shines as the owner of a small clothing shop that also acts as a front for organized crime in Chicago. The rest of the cast, featuring Zoey Deutch and Dylan O’Brian in major roles, all do an excellent job building tension over the course of this relatively short crime thriller.

The Lost City (Paramount+): If one can sift through the subpar app and viewing experience that is Paramount+, they can now find March’s romantic comedy The Lost City starring Channing Tatum and Sandra Bullock. The movie follows the kidnapping of a romance writer and the half-baked plan by the cover model of her books to rescue her. It is the strongest adventure move of the year (sorry Uncharted) and has a few genuinely funny moments. It is definitely worth a watch if someone wants to decompress.

Love, Death, and Robots Season 3 (Netflix): Love, Death, and Robots is the closest thing in television to reading an anthology of the best science fiction and fantasy. It uses a wide range of animation styles to tell unique stories through the lens of (mostly) robotic interference. Most of the stories are short and all of them are stand alone so someone can pop in, watch one, and then come back later to watch more without worrying about losing their spot. Of note, “The Very Pulse of the Machine” is visually striking and “Night of the Mini Dead” is one of the best zombie apocalypse stories in recent history. Conversely “Three Robots: Exit Strategies,” while it may be cutesy and the three robots are endearing to watch, may be too political for some viewers who have an issue with political messaging in media.

You May Have Missed:

Slacker (Criterion): For those who are unfamiliar, the Criterion App is a collection of some of the best movies (both foreign and domestic) released in the way that the director intended the movie to be viewed. On top of this, the movies often feature featurettes and other mini-documentaries and supplemental materials to further enjoyment of the films. Slacker is a great movie for anyone who wants to familiarize themselves with the slice-of-life genre of film as it follows the lives of people living in Austin, Texas. It covers a wide-range of topics that impact these 20-somethings as they live their lives. It was one of the first movies to characterize Gen X on screen and provide a voice for those who felt society left them behind. Linklater’s style in this movie would eventually go on to influence a lot of his later work as well as movies like Kids, Clerks, and more recently Mid90s and Eighth Grade.