5 Things to Watch This Week.
Your watch radar for the 3rd week of March 2023.
Another week with too much content out there to decide what’s best to watch. Don’t worry, I have it handled for you. Here are 5 things you should be watching this week:
Courtesy of Apple TV
‘Shrinking’ (9.0/ 10) – Apple TV
Apple TV seems to be in the midst of its 83’ Wayne Gretzky era with a steady stream of exceptional content. My girlfriend and I were looking for a new show last week and stumbled upon ‘Shrinking’ and decided to give it the ole college try by investing in 2 episodes and then deciding whether to push on. We ended up watching 4 episodes in one night and finished all the available episodes in 3-days. In short, I’ve never laughed as much watching a show as I did with this one.
Here’s a breakdown: A grieving therapist starts to tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge changes to people's lives, including his own. You have to understand, both the trailer and the premise do this show justice.
It's created and written by Jason Segel, Ted Lasso Producer Bill Lawrence, and Roy Kent err I mean Brett Goldstein. The dialogue is infused with Segel and Kent’s comedic tendencies. Creating hilariously uncomfortable scenes amongst the characters while managing to infuse a poignant emotional journey that sees Segel start from rock bottom and try his best to get back to normal.
Segel plays a character that is adjacent to Forgetting Sarah Marshall, hitting his shins against every awkward situation coffee table that he can. All while being a loveable big goofball. Above all else, Harrison Ford shocked me in this show. Playing a character that is wholly unlike anything else in his career. Creating a persona of a grungy aging man on the exterior but ever so gently revealing his soft heart. He keeps the comedic rhythm steady without skipping a beat and is by far the funniest I’ve ever seen him be.
‘Shrinking’ manages to strike a balance between humor, sadness, and uplifting. Something that I’ve truly only seen done in Ted Lasso, which is on-brand for this group of writers. Even though it tackles the very real predicaments of life, it somehow never leaves you feeling gloomy at the end of an episode. I think it’s because it employs the aforementioned elements in a very uniform fashion to move the plot. Right now, there’s one season with 9-available episodes on Apple TV with the finale dropping on March 24th. ‘Shrinking’ ignored its training and ethics to reach a 9.0/10 on my scale. As always thanks for watching and stay tuned for more reviews.
Courtesy of Amazon Prime
‘Terminal List’ (9.2/ 10) - Amazon Prime
“A former Navy Seal officer investigates why his entire platoon was ambushed during a high-stakes covert mission”
After working with Navy Seals for ‘Zero Dark Thirty’, one of Chris Pratt’s trainers recommended a book by Jack Carr called ‘The Terminal List’. Pratt liked the book so much that he decided to option it and team up with Antoine Fuqua. The pair decided to create a series in lieu of a movie. It’s intended to feel similar to a movie that happens to be 8 episodes. The production team wanted each episode to have the production budget and feel of a movie while being able to capitalize on the story-level benefits of a series. Additionally, high importance was placed on authenticity by employing Navy Seals on set to verify everything was up to snuff. They also added a more powerful element of psychology. a thriller to the story. Their efforts produced an 8-episode 1st season, which is quite possibly one of the best of 2022. It has a lot of elements working in its favor. Creating a story consisting of a healthy mix of psychologically thrilling, military combat, mystery, and drama. It makes for a very entertaining experience. Pratt for his part strikes the balance between physical prowess and emotional depth. Backed up by Constance Wu and Taylor Kitsch, both of whom deliver superb performances. This is a series that will put its hooks in you and won’t let you go. ‘The Terminal List’ achieved revenge with a 9.2/10 on my scale.
Courtesy of Peacock
‘Poker Face’ (8.4/ 10) – Peacock
“Charlie has an extraordinary ability to determine when someone is lying. She hits the road with her Plymouth Barracuda and with every stop encounters a new cast of characters and strange crimes she can’t help but investigate and solve.”
One of my friends recommended this show, and out of curiosity, I checked it out. I’m not sure what my expectations were but it exceeded whatever they were. Each episode has an individual storyline taking place over the macro-plot generated in episode 1. This leads to each episode taking its own adventure and comprising a new mystery that our main character must solve. Speaking of the main character, Charlie Cale is played by Natasha Lyonne, and she does a commendable job. Not only is she funny during every bizarre scenario, but she also crafts a lovable character. It’s a very interesting 10-episode series that’s available only on Peacock.
Courtesy of Hulu
‘Burn After Reading’ (7.6/ 10) – HBO Max & $3.99 on Apple TV
“A disk containing mysterious information from a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous and daft gym employees who attempt to sell it.”
This hilarious spy comedy is often forgotten about but has an a-list cast worthy of attention. Starring Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, George Clooney, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, and Richard Jenkins. It’s a cat-and-mouse chase movie that incorporates a number of characters to tell the hilarious journey. Out of the characters often incomparable stupidity comes some legendary one-liners. This movie is perfect after a long day and the desire to turn your brain off. It’s available on HBO Max and for $3.99 on Apple TV. ‘Burn After Reading’ landed as a 7.6/10 on my scale.
Courtesy of Skydance Productions
‘World War Z’ (7.9/ 10) – Netflix
“Former United Nation employee Gerry Lane traverses the world in a race against time to stop a zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments. Threatening to destroy humanity itself.”
In the spirit of ‘The Last of Us,’ it’s time to revisit the zombie genre with ‘World War Z’ (2013). This world-encompassing survival movie is a great watch for any day. Every action scene makes you sit on the edge of your seat hoping the characters make it out alive. Even CGI aids this process by creating realistic and detailed graphics of the zombies. I’m a fan of the world-encompassing element that this movie utilizes to tell the story. I don’t just want to see zombies attacking in New York, take me to every city you can. Brad Pitt sells his usual stature of a man capable of both secret missions and protecting his family when the situation calls for it. I think this is an apt movie to keep in anyone’s back pocket for a rainy day.
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