tv

📺 Pam and Tommy 🤩🤩🤩🤩

tv

I was too young to follow the story of Pam Anderson and Tommy Lee in real time, but of course, I’ve heard about the infamous sex tape. The first few episodes cover the intense love affair between Pam and Tommy — love at first sight if there ever was such a thing. We also quickly establish Rand Gauthier as the man who is out to get them. As the series continues, Tommy must reckon with the end of his Mötley Crüe music career, while Pamela struggles to rise above her Playmate status and beach babe role on Baywatch. The show digs into themes of celebrity, sexism, misogyny and how the internet dismantled privacy and changed the face of porn forever. If you lived through the 90s, you’ll love the fashion, music and lingo throwbacks. Loose jeans and “cool beans.” A time when grunge replaced punk, and Nirvana and Third Eye Blind were the hot, new acts in town. Though, I really could’ve done without the dick talk. But, the acting is superb. Definitely bingeworthy!

Trailer

Genre: Biography, Drama, Comedy, Romance
Released: 2022
Running Time: 5h 40m
Creator: Robert Siegel
Starring: Lily James, Sebastian Stan, Seth Rogan, Nick Offerman, Taylor Schilling
Studio: Annapurna Television, Lionsgate Television
Distributor: Disney Platform Distribution

Related Reviews & Articles

IMDB Rating: 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 79% Tomatometer, 67% Audience Score
Roger and Ebert: ⭐️⭐️✨

VARIETY / Hollywood Reporter / The Guardian / DECIDER / New York Times

Where to Watch: Hulu, DIRECTV, Amazon, Google Play

📺 Sexify (S2) 🤩🤩🤩✨

tv

Sexify is a fun, flirtatious watch. A Polish series about three female entrepreneurs in their early 20s, who create an app (Sexify) that promises to revolutionize users’ sex lives. Of course, they’re not without their own relationship problems. This second season focuses on the legal and financial hurdles that all promising start-ups face — running out of funding, investors wanting to take control, and competitors stealing ideas. But, the show largely rests on the partnership between the three founders and their own sexual explorations. The series is similar in tone to Sex Education (an excellent British show), and not nearly as graphic as Euphoria. It captures the Gen-Z approach to dealing with app-based sex, love and dating. This time with more tech and less high school.

Trailer

Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 2021
Running Time: 40m
Creators: Kalina Alabrudzinska, Małgorzata Biedronska, Piotr Domalewski
Starring: Sandra Drzymalska, Aleksandra Skraba, Maria Sobocinska
Studio: Akson Studio
Distributor: Netflix

Related Reviews & Articles

IMDB Rating: 6.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% Tomatometer, 82% Audience Score

DECIDER / Thrillist / Daily Beast / DEADLINE / Hollywood Reporter

Where to Watch: Netflix

📺 Emily in Paris (S3) 🤩🤩 ✨

tv

I don’t know why this show is so damn watchable. I’ve binged every season, and yet, I don’t find myself liking any of the characters, except for Luc. Emily is annoying. Gabriel is cute, but boring. Mindy can sing, but that’s about all. Cami is chic and French in all the right ways, but I found myself rooting for her less this season. Maybe, it’s the fashion. Maybe, it’s the fact that the show is set in Paris. Maybe, it’s the fact that Emily’s French office mates Sylvie, Julien and Luc are at times delightfully rude and hilarious. Maybe, it’s all of the above. I guess this show is kind of like chewing bubble gum. Once you start, you just can’t stop. Also, the Pop Air Balloon Museum is my literal dream come true. So, if you’re in the mood for something mindless and fun, Emily in Paris is the perfect weekend binge. But, if you want something a bit more challenging, watch The English instead.

Trailer

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Released: 2020
Running Time: 30m (10 episodes)
Studio: Darren Star Productions, Jax Media, MTV Entertainment Studios
Distributor: Netflix
Starring: Lily Collins, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Ashley Park, Lucas Bravo
Creator: Darren Star

Related Reviews & Articles

IMDB Rating: 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 60% Tomatometer, 46% Audience Score
Roger and Ebert

IndieWire / VARIETY / Hollywood Reporter / New York Times / DEADLINE / Vulture

Where to Watch: Netflix, Amazon Prime

📺 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

📺 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