Quarantine Week 8: Top Streaming Recommendations

I previously highlighted some of my favorite shows/movies from HBO [view that list here] and Netflix [view here]. This edition is a mixed bag across platforms, but primarily Hulu and Amazon. 🎶 Everybody get your motherfucking stream on🎶 [Big Tymers voice].

Contagion [HBO]
I rewatched this over the weekend, and let me tell you, it hits on literally every single aspect of COVID right now. Director Steven Soderbergh and writer Scott Burns strove of a hyper-realistic movie. It may be too realistic for some, but it's still a high-quality movie.


POWER [Starz]
Power is a TV show at the intersection of high class and drug money. One of my favorite shows from the past 10 years. Omari Hardwick and Joseph Sikora are amazing, the writing is strong and the story is engaging.


Killing Eve [Hulu]
A dark comedy (and I mean dark) about a cat and mouse dance between an America MI-6 agent and the deranged serial killer who falls in love with her. Sandra Oh won a Golden Globe for her work, and Jodie Comer won an Emmy the same year. The craziest thing? Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who created, wrote, and starred in Fleabag (below) was the showrunner for season 1!


American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson
American Crime Story is an anthology series from mega-producer Ryan Murphy. It chronicles the OJ Simpson murder trial and the entire vibe and race issues surrounding it. It's one season, so it's a quick watch. It has an all star cast and it's an all star show

Fleabag [Amazon]
Phoebe Waller-Bridge is amazing. She created Fleabag. She was the showrunner for Season 1 of Killing Eve. She wrote the newest James Bond movie. And Fleabag is all her comedic talents laid bare for everyone to see and enjoy. The good and bad thing about the show is that it's only 2 seasons/12 episodes total, so you can binge it in half a day. There's a great Obama joke in season 1 and Obama included Fleabag on his 2019 best of list.


Upload [Amazon]
Man, I ate an edible last week and binged this entire show. At first, I thought it was workplace comedy a la The Good Place, and the further into it I got, the more I realized this show was going some dark places. What happens when you go to digital heaven, but you don't want to be there? What happens when you have to pay for it, but someone else is controlling the purse strings? It's got some really interesting ideas and I can't wait for S2.


Love is Blind [Netflix]
My wife and I's guilty pleasure. Super bingable. I hear it's like Married at First Sight but I wouldn't know as I've never seen it. I will say, this show, more than any other reality show I've ever seen, actually has tension and drama and high stakes. You feel for the participants because so much of the interaction is one-on-one and relatable. This show also has one of the wildest proposals I've ever seen. Sooooooo extra.


LOST [Hulu/Amazon]
A classic. If you haven't seen it, I consider the first 3 seasons to be some of the best broadcast television ever produced. The ways they showcase each character - each episode focus' on a different person's backstory - was innovative at the time and the shows influence can be found in nearly every major high-end sci-fi series since.

Assassination Nation [Hulu]
A revenge thriller/satire of what happens when an entire community goes lynch mob against 4 high-school women who decide to fight back.

Quarantine Week 4: Top HBO Recommendations

Click here for Netflix picks. Fuck covid, I won't even put any respek on its name. Won't capitalize it or list the whole thing or nothing. These are some of my favorite HBO shows and my top recommendations for series to watch during quarantine. No particular order (but The Wire will always be #1):

The Wire (2002 - 5 seasons)

I really feel in my bones that this is the greatest scripted television show ever created. The realness, the writing, the story, the impact, the social commentary - it has everything. Watching this show is like reading a book; it's methodical. Every character has their purpose and all the pieces matter.


Westworld (2016 - 3 seasons)

One of my favorite shows right now, Westworld is a high-brow sci-fi show like The Matrix, Ex-Machina or Blade Runner. Westworld is an adult playground where you can do whatever your mind can think to whomever you want to do it to because all the workers in the park are robots. But what happens when the robots develop consciousness? What does morality say about that?

Insecure (2016 - 4 seasons)

I love when black comedies get national love. Issa Rae is a star in front and behind the camera. A modern day tale of awkward and insecure people who don't have their life together.

Watchmen (2019 - limited series)

One of the finest 9 hours of television you'll see this year. An all-star cast led by the fabulous Regina King, Watchmen is an adaptation of the beloved graphic novel series. Part thriller, part sci-fi, part racist revenge drama and origin story. I loved it.

The Outsider (2020 - limited series)

Based on the Stephen King novel, The Outsider is both a crime show and a supernatural thriller combined in one. Cynthia Erivo delivers another quality performance.

Avenue 5 (2020 - 1 season)

Maybe it's because I watched nearly every episode while high on edibles, but this show is probably the funniest, driest, dark workplace comedy I've seen in a long time. The trailers never really conveyed it, but the show is basically about what happens when a space cruise gets knocked off its course and takes an additional 3 years to get back to earth. Oh, and everyone on the crew is an imbecile.

Chernobyl (2019 - miniseries)

Every limited series you've ever seen? This rivals it in quality. It won the Emmy and Golden Globe for best limited series. Absolutely gripping.

Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

I didn't think I was going to like this movie because the special effects make it look like an anime, but strong emotional development and action had me pleasantly surprised.

Quarantine: Top Netflix Recommendations

COVID-19 aint no joke. And neither is sitting inside the house all day with nothing good to watch. It's the cable channel paradox. We're overloaded with options and as a result, it's difficult to make a decision. Here are some of the recent Netflix shows and movies I've watched and loved. Hopefully you enjoy some of them, too. In no particular order:

Pose - LGBTQ Ballroom culture/drag scene in 1980s NYC. More heart and soul than 99% of TV shows out there

I'm Sorry - Andrea Savage plays herself, a raunchy comedian living her life and raising her daughter. If you like Curb Your Enthusiasm, you'll like this. The first episode is about how her 5 year old daughter might be racist.

Don't Fuck with Cats - A guy posts a video online of him killing cats. The internet tries to find out who he is before his actions escalate to murder. 

Tiger King - You've heard about it. You may have seen some of it. I will say, it's as wild as it's portrayed as. 

Bodyguard - A BBC limited series about a former Army officer-turned government bodyguard who gets wrapped up in a terrorist plot...and an affair.

Altered Carbon - No one ever really dies (shout out to N.E.R.D.). In this series based on a graphic novel, your consciousness lives in your "stack," an implant in the back of your neck. If you die, your stack goes in a new body, unless someone destroys your stack. Joel Kinnaman plays the lead in season 1, and Anthony Mackie plays the same character, just in a new body, in season 2.

Giri/Haji - A Japanese detective travels to London in search for his brother, a Yakuza hitman wanted for killing someone from the wrong family. I really like how it shows Japanese culture/actors mixed with a western style.

Always By My Maybe - This is just a really funny fucking movie. A romantic comedy written and starring two Asian comedians (Ali Wong and Randall Park), directed by the creator of Park's Fresh Off The Boat, which Wong was also a writer on. And don't forget Keanu Reeves flexing as a version of himself.

The Perfection - A horror thriller that goes places you do not expect. I'll just leave it at that.

Spiral Trailer: New SAW Movie Staring Chris Rock + Sam Jackson

Chris Rock is rebooting the SAW franchise with the new movie, Spiral. He wrote the story treatment (but not the screenplay) and is exec producing the new movie. Rock plays a cop hunting a madman (presumably Jigsaw) who's hunting police officers and killing them in gruesome ways.

Spiral hits theaters May 15, 2020.

Annihilation [Movie Trailer]

The above is the first teaser trailer for the upcoming Natalie Portman starrer, Annihilation, an adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer 2014 sci-fi book of the same time (it's the first of a trilogy). Co-staring Oscar Issac (Star Wars 7), Tessa Thompson (Creed, Westworld, upcoming Thor: Ragnarok) and Gina Rodriguez (Jane, The Virgin) here's the logline, courtesy of Deadline:

Something has done something to the husband (Oscar Isaac) of the Biologist (Portman), and whatever it is, it appears to be quite sinister. In an effort to save him, she volunteers for a secret mission into alien territory — a cordoned-off forest where a shape-shifting, Aurora Borealis-looking being awaits. Seems that previous attempts to explore the area met with disastrous results.

Annihilation hits theaters February 23rd, 2018.

American Made [Movie Trailer]

From the YouTube description:

In Universal Pictures’ American Made, Tom Cruise reunites with his Edge of Tomorrow director, Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith), in this international escapade based on the outrageous (and real) exploits of a hustler and pilot unexpectedly recruited by the CIA to run one of the biggest covert operations in U.S. history.

This looks very entertaining. I'm excited. But Tom Cruise' southern accent tho...lol.

Honest Trailers: 50 Shades Darker

If you're familiar with Screen Junkie's Honest Trailers series, then you'll love this one. If you're not, a quick set up: Screen Junkies review a movie in the most brutal way possible, poking fun at everything good and (mostly) bad about a movie.

Considering how bad 50 Shades Darker is, the crew has a whoooooollllleeee lot to make fun of. And they do not disappoint. Shouts to Entertainment Weekly on the heads up.

Movie Trailer: Blade Runner 2049

Warner Bros and Columbia Pictures recently dropped the first full-length trailer for Blade Runner 2049, the sequel to Ridley Scott's classic 1982 Blade Runner sci-fi film. Set 30 years in the future, this new version stars Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, the latter who returns to reprise his role from literally 35 years ago. I guess between this and Star Wars 7, dude is making bank reviving his old characters. Trailer looks dope, and I'm a big fan of sprawling, visually appealing, futuristic sci-fi shit like this. I mean, it's the same reason I saw Prometheus, and why I'll see Alien: Covenant (both of which were directed by Ridley Scott. See a theme here?).

Blade Runner 2049 hits theaters October 6, 2017. Shouts to Deadline for the heads up.

In a Valley of Violence [Movie Trailer]

In a Valley of Violence is the latest movie from writer/director Ti West. He previously wrote and directed my favorite horror movie, House of The Devil. That movie's my favorite because it never relied on jumps and random sounds to scare the audience. No, it was a slow-tension-building film that played on your fear of uncertainty and the unknown to frighten you.

In a Valley of Violence is a straight up western revenge flick staring Ethan Hawke and John Travolta, and by the looks of it, it should be pretty damn entertaining. Also, it features Ziggy from The Wire. Peep the official synopsis below and check out In a Valley of Violence in theaters, on demand and on digital HD October 21st.

A mysterious drifter named Paul and his dog Abbie make their way towards Mexico through the barren desert of the old west. In an attempt to shorten their journey they cut through the center of a large valley, landing themselves in the forgotten town of Denton, a place now dubbed by locals as a “valley of violence.” The once popular mining town is nearly abandoned, and is controlled by a brash group of misfits and nitwits—chief among them the seemingly untouchable Gilly, who is the troublemaking son of the town’s unforgiving Marshal. As tensions rise between Paul and Gilly, Denton’s remaining residents bear witness to an inevitable act of violence that starts a disastrous chain reaction, infecting the petty lives of all involved and quickly dragging the whole town into the bloody crosshairs of revenge.

Zoolander 2 [Movie Trailer]

Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are back in Zoolander 2, the sequel the 2001 movie Zoolander that no one really saw in theaters. But it was one of those movies that develop a gigantic following in the home video market — so here we are. In Zoolander 2, someone's trying to kill the world's most beautiful people and Derek (Stiller) and Hansel (Wilson) must try to stop them. Along for the ride are Penelope Cruz, Justin Bieber, Kristen Wiig, Kanye West, Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Munn, and more.

Zoolander 2, directed by Stiller and written by The Leftover's Justin Theroux (he also wrote Tropic Thunder and Iron Man 2), hits theaters February 12, 2016.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice [Comic-Con Movie Trailer]

March 25th, 2016. This looks crazy. And on some baby Taylor Swift shit, this has more than 21 million views in 2 days.

"Mean Gurlz" - If "Mean Girls" Took Place in Inner City Compton

This entire video has me *dead*. I wish this was the sequel to Mean Girls instead of that abomination that was ABC Family's Mean Girls 2.

 "Hoodrat takes human form in Rhiyonce"

The Semi-SFW Trailer for "The Human Sexipede", a Spoof of "The Human Centipede"

There are countless porn spoofs of popular movies. You've got Star Wars XXX, The Avengers XXX, The Simpsons XXX — if it's popular, they'll put porn in it. I don't think it's a stretch of the imagination to say these movies are generally terrible (but also fun for your penis). And that's where The Human Sexipede, a spoof of the sometimes difficult to fathom The Human Centipede, makes its mark.

In the clip below, the "spoof" manages to not only be better than its source material, but also, dare I say it, good? Why? Because it's actually funny (like, really, it's really funny) and the porn stars have enough charisma to make you feel like you're watching something more akin to a student or independent short than a low-budget porn.

It Follows [Movie Trailer]

FUCK THIS FUCK THIS FUCK THIS FUCK EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS MOVIE. 

Now that's out of the way, let me rationally tell you what It Follows is about. It's basically The Ring...with STDs instead of a video tape. If you have the curse, you have sex with someone else so they have it instead of you. The additional catch? It forms a line like The Human Centipede. If one person dies from not passing it on, then everyone who had it before them also dies. It Follows will follow you into select theaters on March 13th, 2015.

Crimson Peak [Teaser Trailer]

Crimson Peak is the upcomign horror/thriller from writer/director Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy, Pacific Rim). Staring Jessica Chastain (Interstellar, Zero Dark Thirty), Tom Hiddleston (Thor, Avengers), Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) and Charlie Hunnam (Fifty Shades of Grey, Sons of Anarchy), Crimson Peak hits theaters October 16th.

In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds… and remembers.

Straight Outta Compton [Red Band Trailer for the Upcoming NWA Biopic)

Universal Pictures is releasing the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton later this year, and during last night's Grammy awards (yawn), they aired a teaser commercial for the pic. The teaser features Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, both deeply involved in producing Straight Outta Compton, driving around the city and talking about what NWA meant (they also chat with fellow Compton rappers Game and Kendrick Lamar for good measure). Per Universal:

In the mid-1980s, the streets of Compton, California, were some of the most dangerous in the country. When five young men translated their experiences growing up into brutally honest music that rebelled against abusive authority, they gave an explosive voice to a silenced generation. Following the meteoric rise and fall of N.W.A., Straight Outta Compton tells the astonishing story of how these youngsters revolutionized music and pop culture forever the moment they told the world the truth about life in the hood and ignited a cultural war.

Straight Outta Compton was directed by F. Gary Gray (Friday, Set It Off, The Italian Job) and stars O’Shea Jackson Jr. as Ice Cube (yes — that's Ice Cubes son), Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, and Paul Giamatti as their manager Jerry Heller. Straight Outta Compton hits theaters August 14th, 2015.

Honest Trailers: Gone Girl [Warning: Spoilers]

For the uninitiated, Honest Trailers is a YouTube series where Screen Junkies, a movie website, makes "honest" trailers for really famous and sometime plot-hole-heavy movies. Their honest trailer for David Fincher's wonderful Gone Girl is no different.

Check out the New Will Smith Movie "Focus" [Movie Trailer]

Will Smith's new movie, Focus, sees him teaming up with The Wolf of Wall Street's Margot Robbie, for a heist thriller that hits theaters February 27th. Count me in. The movie was written and directed by Glenn Ficarra & John Requa, the duo behind Crazy, Stupid, Love and the super underrated and underseen Jim Carrey starrer, I Love You, Philip Morris. They also wrote Bad Santa.

Will Smith stars as Nicky, a seasoned master of misdirection who becomes romantically involved with novice con artist Jess (Margot Robbie). As he’s teaching her the tricks of the trade, she gets too close for comfort and he abruptly breaks it off. Three years later, the former flame—now an accomplished femme fatale—shows up in Buenos Aires in the middle of the high stakes racecar circuit. In the midst of Nicky’s latest, very dangerous scheme, she throws his plans for a loop…and the consummate con man off his game.

Entourage [Movie Trailer] - In Theaters June 5th

You might love Entourage. Or, like myself, you might love the early seasons of the hit HBO show and may feel some type of a way about the last few. Kind of like Lost. Well, exactly like Lost. And most tv shows. But unlike the rest of the shows you have a love/hate relationship with, you get a chance to fall in love on more time. The Entourage movie hits theaters in just over 5 months, on June 5th.