2022

🎬 The Pale Blue Eye 🤩🤩🤩✨

film

Chilling, eerie and haunting. The Pale Blue Eye is a tale of murder and deceit that gravitates toward the occult. At first, you’ll want to escape into the untouched, snowy woods of the Hudson Valley, where Detective Augustus Landor lives alone — his own family gone. But then, we discover a U.S. cadet has hanged himself and had his heart cut out. Landor begrudgingly takes the case. But, it won’t be his last murder investigation.

I read Edgar Allen Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart in school, and it’s the kind of story that sticks with you. Harry Melling does a fantastic job of playing the poet, and there are references to Poe’s other work throughout. Christian Bale is equally great as Detective Landor, and so are the supporting performances. The perfect watch for a gloomy winter weekend.

Trailer

Genre: Crime, Horror, Mystery
Released: 2022
Running Time: 2h 8m
MPAA: R
Director: Scott Cooper
Writer: Scott Cooper (screen), Louis Bayard (book)
Starring: Christian Bale, Harry Melling, Simon McBurney, Timothy Spall, Harry Lawtey, Toby Jones, Lucy Boynton, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Gillian Anderson, Robert Duvall
Studio: Cross Creek Pictures, Streamline Global Group, Le Grisbi Productions
Distributor: Netflix

Related Reviews & Articles

IMDB Rating: 6.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 64% Tomatometer, 73% Audience Score
Roger and Ebert: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

IndieWire / VARIETY / Hollywood Reporter / New York Times / Vulture / Rolling Stone / The Wrap / DEADLINE

Where to Watch: Netflix

🎬 Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery 🤩🤩

film

I have to admit, I didn’t like the first Knives Out film, and I liked this second one even less. Even good performances by Edward Norton and Janelle Monae couldn’t save it for me. Without giving anything away, I figured out the “murder mystery” within the first 30 minutes and spent the rest of the film thinking it was rather dull. Also, Daniel Craig’s accent as Detective Benoit drove me crazy, but I’m very particular about accents. That being said, I’m in the minority here. Daniel Craig was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance and the general consensus is that people love this movie. It’s not that I’m against whodunits in general (I used to read detective novels as a kid), but this series hasn’t managed to capture my interest, despite the star-studded cast. Let’s just say, I’m way more excited for Ocean’s 14 to come out. But, what do I know? Go check it out yourself!

Trailer

Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Released: 2022
Running Time: 2h 19m
Studio: T-Street
MPAA: PG-13
Starring: Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Janelle Monae, Kathryn Hahn, Dave Bautista
Director: Rian Johnson
Writer: Rian Johnson

Related Reviews & Articles

IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% Tomatometer, 93% Audience Score
Roger and Ebert: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

IndieWire / VARIETY / Hollywood Reporter / New York Times / The Wrap / DEADLINE

Where to Watch: Netflix

📺 Fleishman is in Trouble 🤩🤩🤩🤩

tv

Based on the novel by the same name, Fleishman is in Trouble is a story about nothing short of “everything.” So, what does that mean? According to the narrator, everything stands for life, love, family, career, marriage, money, divorce, friendship, but most importantly — the terrible disappointment of it all. The story centers around three Jewish friends who meet in college, go on a trip to Israel where a questionable woman foretells their future, and then part ways and pursue upper-middle class lives in New York City. Their friendship picks back up when Toby (aka Doctor Fleishman) reaches out during a personal crisis. His life is thrown into upheaval after Rachel (his wife) disappears, effectively leaving him to raise their two children alone. And, though the series focuses on the drama of Toby and Rachel’s divorce, it’s told from his friend Libby’s point of view, who grappling with her own mid-life crisis, has recently picked up smoking again and dreams of her old NYC life.

As someone who is nearing the ripe old age of 40 — and has friends with kids, friends without kids, friends who want kids but can’t have them, friends who are happily married, friends who are unhappily married, friends who are single and happy, friends who are unmarried and unhappy, friends who are divorced, friends who want a divorce and friends who are already remarried — it all feels very relatable. In short, Fleishman is in Trouble is about the never-ending process of having to reconcile your past dreams and hopes with your current life and potential future, none of which ever seem to bear any resemblance to one another.

Trailer

Genre: Drama
Released: 2022
Running Time: 48m (8 episodes)
Studio: Timberman/Beverly Productions, ABC Signature
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Claire Danes, Lizzy Caplan, Adam Brody
Creator: Taffy Brodesser-Akner

Related Reviews & Articles

IMDB Rating:
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% Tomatometer, 88% Audience Score
Roger and Ebert:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

IndieWire / VARIETY / Hollywood Reporter / New York Times / DEADLINE / Vulture
NYT Book Review & Author Discussion

Where to Watch: Hulu

🎬📺📚 Best of 2022

books, film, tv

Here’s my list of 2022 favorites!

Film

Top Gun: Maverick
Emily the Criminal
Don’t Worry Darling
Flee
Blonde
The Worst Person in the World
Licorice Pizza
My Policeman
Turning Red
Belle

TV

The English
Industry
Severance
White Lotus (S2)
The Dropout
Search Party (S5)
The Bear
The Playlist
1899
Formula 1 (S4)
Inventing Anna

Books

Where the Crawdads Sing
Conversations with Friends
The Woman Destroyed
The Midnight Library
Beautiful World, Where Are You
Educated
Between Two Kingdoms

🎬 White Noise 🤩🤩🤩🤩

film

Funny, strange and beautiful. Based on a Don DeLillo novel, White Noise is about a family who must come to grips with the absurdities of life (and death) while trying to survive an “airborne toxic event.” Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig are my favorite writer/director pair, and I love almost everything they put out. Then, add Adam Driver on top. I mean, please! There were some truly epic scenes and laugh-out-loud moments in this film that will no doubt be remembered and quoted endlessly. Without giving anything away, I took particular joy in the German and river scenes. And, the 80s nostalgia and fashion were lots of fun. The way the characters talk to each other as if narrating their own stories takes some getting used to, but not so much that it distracts from the film overall. Ultimately, White Noise is a meditation on life, fear, death, and what it means to believe in anything. Definitely worth checking out. Also, the end credit sequence is killer — shout out to LCD Soundsystem!

Teaser Trailer
Full Trailer
Credits
Song

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Horror
Released: 2022
Running Time: 2h 16m
Studio: A24, Heyday Films
MPAA: R
Starring: Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Don Cheadle, Lars Eidinger
Director: Noah Baumbach
Writer: Noah Baumbach (screen), Don DeLillo (book)

Related Reviews & Articles

IMDB Rating: 6.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 63% Tomatometer, 45% Audience Score
Roger and Ebert: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

IndieWire / VARIETY / Hollywood Reporter / New York Times / LCD Soundsystem

Where to Watch: Netflix


🎬 Spirited 🤩🤩

film

I’m not sure what happened here. Granted, my friend talked through half the movie, so I may have missed some critical elements, but overall, I thought this film was a disaster and was unable to keep my attention or interest. I’d just watched Elf earlier in the day, which had me laughing in stitches, like always. But, Spirited felt like a waste of talent for both Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds. I just couldn’t buy into Ryan Reynolds’ character as the villain, whereas my friend couldn’t buy into the idea of Will Ferrell as Scrooge. And, the opening songs about capitalism and corporate culture were cringeworthy. The only saving grace of this film were the remaining musical and dance numbers, which by and large, were quite good. Overall though, this film couldn’t decide want it wanted to be. Drama, comedy, musical? And, all the jumping around in time made my head spin. Will definitely not be watching this one again next Christmas.

Trailer

Genre: Comedy, Family, Musical
Released: 2022
Running Time: 2h 7m
Studio: Apple Original Films
MPAA: PG-13
Starring: Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer
Director: Sean Anders
Writer: Sean Anders, John Morris

Related Reviews & Articles

IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 69% Tomatometer, 80% Audience Score
Roger and Ebert: ⭐️⭐️✨

IndieWire / VARIETY / Hollywood Reporter / New York Times / NPR

Where to Watch: Apple TV+

📺 The English 🤩🤩🤩🤩✨

tv

This show was recommended to me by a friend, and I watched the whole series in two days. The performances by Emily Blunt, Chaske Spencer and Rafe Spall were incredible. I’m not big on Westerns, but I loved this show, and did not see the twist coming! Not only is it a commentary on European colonialism and a truthful representation of the Native American’s fate, but the cinematography and scenery of the American West are breathtaking. It made me yearn for the wide open spaces of Colorado. The growing bond between Cornelia and Eli had me invested throughout. And, while Cornelia’s mission to do justice by her son serves as the central driving force here, Eli’s character and story are just as fascinating. At its heart, this is a story about the losses we carry, the distances we’ll go to seek revenge and how to suffer with dignity. It’s also a story about finding home — when the one you had was brutally taken from you.

Trailer

Genre: Drama, Suspense, Western
Released: 2022
Running Time: 51min (per episode)
Studio: BBC/Prime Video
Starring: Emily Blunt, Chaske Spencer, Stephen Rea, Rafe Spall
Director: Hugo Blick
Writer: Hugo Blick

Related Reviews & Articles

IMDB Rating: 8.0
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% Tomatometer, 79% Audience Score
Roger and Ebert: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

IndieWire / VARIETY / Hollywood Reporter / New York Times

Where to Watch: Prime Video