Hello friends, And greetings from Singapore! I am in town for a local festival and was more than delighted to visit a theater called The Projector (although I am forever partial to Projektor spelled with a “k”). The lineup is great—edgy, urgent, and inventive, as festival films should be—but tonight I’m turning in with my favorite Thanksgiving watch, which isn’t actually one movie but a double feature of The Meyerowitz Stories and Pieces of April. There’s something about how, in these films, families use holidays as a pretense to bring up old wounds that always gets me. It makes for a stirring drama that always ends in catharsis, in one way or another. As always, I hope you have a nice weekend. OUR TOP TV SHOW OF THE WEEKWednesdayNew on Netflix 🍅 rating: 70% You may already know of the Addams, the perennially black-clad family that revels in all things odd and macabre, but the latest Netflix series shifts the focus on the Addams's daughter, Wednesday, and doubles as a murder mystery and coming-of-age story. Directed by Tim Burton (who passed on helming the 1991 Addams Family movie to work on Batman Returns), Netflix’s eight-part series Wednesday follows the titular character as she tries to settle into her new school and carve an identity outside of her family. Things get even more complicated when she gets entangled in a murder case, which she attempts to solve (albeit reluctantly) with her new friends. Wednesday can sometimes veer into generic teen territory at times, but if you don’t mind that sort of fare, then you’ll surely enjoy the series. Also: Jenny Ortega as Wednesday is a revelation; anyone else might’ve turned into a caricature, but Ortega stays grounded throughout the heightened parts of the story, never forgetting to tap into the (soot-black) heart of her character. OUR TOP MOVIE OF THE WEEKGood Night OppyNew on Amazon Prime 🍅 rating: 85% In 2003, NASA launched twin rovers Oppy (short for Opportunity) and Spirit into Mars expecting them to last for only 90 days. But equipped with almost human-like perseverance and personality, the rovers lasted for years, tracing terrain and reporting extraterrestrial findings back to Earth until Oppy’s final goodbye in 2018. Good Night Oppy follows the rovers and the team who made their journeys possible, finding warmth and emotion in the daunting task that is finding life on Mars. It’s as informational as it is inspirational, a gratifying watch on all accounts. Top picks outside of Netflix and Amazon Prime
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That’s all for this week. This edition of the newsletter will be back on Friday, December 2. Till then, Renee You're currently a free subscriber to The Watch. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. |