Weekly Streaming Recap: Week of June 10th, 2022

Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 4 (Disney+): The interquel Star Wars live action properties (Solo, Rogue One, and now Obi-Wan Kenobi) feel like they exist entirely to answer questions that nobody was asking. There did not necessarily need to be an explanation as to how Darth Vader came up with his plan to let everyone escape the Death Star in Episode IV and then track them to the rebel base on Yavin IV, yet this episode provides that. Beyond that, the “character has to infiltrate an imperial stronghold” storyline has been done almost to death on Star Wars: Rebels, The Bad Batch, The Clone Wars,
and The Mandalorian, however these episodes always manage to seem the most interesting whenever they come. That said, considering it is episode four of six it does have a certain lack of stakes, perfectly summarized by the scene where Obi-Wan outruns a flood that manages to not get past a door. Logic would dictate that there will probably be another fight with Darth Vader this week, maybe a flashback to the prequels, and Vader’s mask is going to be broken in the fight leaving the finale to be Obi-Wan facing off against Reva who, unlike Vader, is not in the original trilogy and can therefore be killed off.

Ms. Marvel Episode 1 (Disney+): Ms. Marvel
gives the MCU something that has been missing from Phase 4 so far: something not so dark and dramatic. Since Far From Home kicked off Phase 4 (arguably since the end of Avengers: Infinity War), everything from Black Widow
to WandaVision to even Loki has been either dense science fiction or dense dramatically. It is almost as if Marvel was trying to shake off the family-friendly reputation it had gained over the years. In a complete tonal 180 from Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel is an absolute delight with the right mix of family dramatics and comedy with the most visually unique style in recent history with how it blends animation into the real world. Her powers and origin may be slightly different from the comics origin (she does not appear to be an Inhuman in this iteration) but the changes allow her to seamlessly blend into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a way that does not feel forced. That said, the visual effects around her light construct powers (closer to DC’s Green Lantern) are a little off, though that could just be how the one sequence they’ve been showcased was framed. Also, with this week’s announcement of a Thunderbolts movie in development, it is a little confusing as to why the Department of Damage Control is being given the amount of power they have when Valentina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Black Widow and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) is out there and trying to assemble a team.

The Time Traveler’s Wife Episode 5 (HBOMax): It’s always amazing when a six-episode miniseries manages to fit in a filler episode. This week, Henry meets Claire’s family for the first time and things do not go as planned. With one episode left, spending an entire episode with Claire’s family seems like a waste of time, especially when there is Henry’s looming death on the horizon that needs to be addressed as well. The real problem with the show is that even through this episode there is no affection between young Henry and Claire as Claire is always trying to be with the older and more mature version that she fell in love with (which is still creepy). This show does not understand that it should show us these things happening rather than just telling us that they are in love now with no change in demeanor or language between how the two characters talk to each other.

The Northman (Peacock): Robert Eggers’ take on Hamlet but set in the era of Vikings finally finds a streaming home on Peacock. It is one of the best movies of the year so far with outstanding acting, production design, and cinematography. For a full review, click here.

No Time To Die (Amazon Prime): The 25th
James Bond movie finds a streaming home on Amazon Prime and was a surprisingly well made movie. No Time To Die marks Daniel Craig’s final outing as James Bond and manages to wrap up his time in the role succinctly. If there is one complaint about the movie, it is that the villain is not well developed enough, although arguably for an espionage thriller of this sort that is not the most important thing. It is worth a watch if someone has not seen the movie yet, however the nearly three-hour runtime is a tough sell for a second time through.

Everything Everywhere All At Once (iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon for $19.99): Usually movies that are not available to stream for free do not make this list, however Everything Everywhere All At Once is the best movie of the year so far and just a beautifully made blend of science fiction, comedy, and drama to make for a totally unique viewing experience. For a full review, click here.

You May Have Missed:

Frances Ha (Criterion): Directed by Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story and Madagascar 3: Most Wanted) and starring Greta Gerwig (director of Ladybird and Little Women) Frances Ha tells the story of a woman in her late twenties who is struggling to adapt to life after college and finds herself languishing while her friends all move on to bigger and better things. It is a beautifully made movie that channels the style of French New Wave films to tell a deeply personal story that is relatable to people even ten years later. This movie is also culturally significant because it may be one of the first times that a movie called out the psychological ill-effects of social media as people only put the best of their lives on display for friends and family to see, creating the illusion that everyone around someone has their life together and is living a perfect life.