A post-credits scene following The Mandalorian’s Season 2 finale, “The Rescue,” announces The Book of Boba Fett, coming in December 2021.
This appears to be a new spin-off show about the iconic bounty hunter, although there’s the possibility it’s the name of the next Mandalorian season arc. We’ve reached out to Disney and Lucasfilm for comment.
The episode – which also includes an appearance from the actual Luke Skywalker (in de-aged form) – ends with a short scene in which Boba and Fennec Shand pay a violent visit to Jabba the Hutt’s Palace, which is now seemingly ruled over by Bib Fortuna. After dispatching his old friend, Boba sits on Jabba’s throne, and we see “The Book of Boba Fett” appear, before confirming a December 2021 release.
Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].
The Mandalorian Season 2 featured one of the biggest surprises yet, a character cameo so crazy that we can’t believe they even attempted it. Feel free to argue in the comments over here over whether they pulled it off, or if looking at his face is like staring deep into the uncanny void of death.
Regardless, the end of the episode featured one more surprise, and we’re about to spoil it–obviously. You’ve been warned.
a post-credits scene featuring Boba Fett and Ming-Na Wen’s character Fennec Shand. The scene opens with the dual suns of Tatooine (which would feel like a blast from the past if we hadn’t watched Rise of Skywalker last year). The camera pans over to Jabba’s Palace (which actually is a blast from the past). Inside, Bib Fortuna resides, until Boba and Shand arrive and shoot everyone there (except the Twi’lek slave, who they free). Boba sits down on Jabba the Hutt’s old throne, and Fennec grabs a bottle of blue something-or-other.
Cut to a title card: The Book of Boba Fett, coming December 21. And that’s all we know from the teaser itself, although Entertainment Weekly says it’s “yet another spin-off series.”
What exactly does that mean? Is The Book of Boba Fett a Boba-Fett centered TV show? Is it a crossover event with the other two just-announced Mandalorian spin-offs, Rangers of the New Republic and Ahsoka? Is it simply the name of The Mandalorian Season 3? Or is it an actual book? (We doubt that last one.)
What do you think The Book of Boba Fett will be? Let us know in the comments below–hopefully we’ll find out more soon.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
The Mandalorian Season 2 has not been shy about bringing in elements and characters from around the Star Wars galaxy. These have largely been lesser-known characters (at least, compared with the likes of Darth Vader and Han Solo), like Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano, who’s familiar to those who’ve watched some of the Star Wars animated shows, and Katee Sackhoff’s character Bo-Katan. Boba Fett was the exception, although Mando’s version of that iconic character is grizzled and very different from the versions we’ve met before.
In the Season 2 finale, however, The Mandalorian finally went all-in and inserted the mother of all Star Wars cameos. If you haven’t seen the episode yet, go watch it before scrolling any further down the page, because we’re about to spoil it–obviously.
In The Mandalorian’s Season 2 finale, after the climactic battle, Mando and his crew encountered none other than Luke Skywalker (accompanied by R2-D2, of course), who appeared to take Baby Yoda–sorry, Grogu–away for training. And, of course, Luke appeared basically as he was originally portrayed by Mark Hamill–Mark Hamill of 40+ years ago, thanks to the tenuous magic of extremely uncanny CGI.
Naturally, the Mark Hamill of today, who played Luke Skywalker again in the newest trilogy of Star Wars films, can’t really pass as his younger self (understandably). So just as they did with Grand Moff Tarkin and Princess Leia in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Disney used a freaky-looking CGI puppet of young Luke.
The timeline makes sense; The Mandalorian is set following the events of the original trilogy, but before the events of the newest trilogy. Luke would have been in the prime of his Jedi mastery. We never considered the character would have made a cameo on this show, but it’s 2020, so we probably should have seen something like this coming.
According to the credits for the episode, Max Lloyd Jones was a body double for the Jedi, leading us to believe he stood in while Hamill’s face was added on top. So chances are the iconic actor wasn’t on set for the scene. Luke gets a few lines in, but it’s hard to tell whether it’s Hamill’s voice or just an impersonator. Either way, there’s no denying that it’s extremely weird.
Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond marks a return to the series’ historical roots as well as its first foray into virtual reality. It’s been a long time since we’ve stormed the beaches of Normandy or liberated Nazi-occupied France in a Medal of Honor game, but Above and Beyond strives to bring us back to that familiar WWII experience within the new technology. Being asked to answer the call of duty and return to the battlefield in a new Medal of Honor is an exciting prospect, but Above and Beyond is far too simple a shooter and far too restrictive to ever feel engaging like the series once was.
Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond’s campaign is composed of six major missions, each of which is broken into smaller sections, moving you from location to location as you make your way through the story. Each moment of gameplay has you moving through a small area and using a variety of WWII weaponry to take out Nazis. These moments can feature you walking around on foot or, at times, in the back of a vehicle.
Some of the action sequences can be a little too intense, including a sequence where my character was in the back of a moving truck and shooting enemies in the opposite direction, which made me especially motion sick. That said, Above and Beyond offers some great comfort options to help alleviate motion sickness. These include settings that let you tweak turning increments, turn on tunnel vision when sprinting, or even let you skip more intense action sequences entirely and continue through the story. These were enough to alleviate my own issues with motion sickness and made it possible for me to make it through every section without skipping through them. Starting up a new VR game without knowing how your mind and body will react to its movement can be intimidating, but Above and Beyond’s options help mitigate discomfort you may experience throughout its duration.
Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond (screenshots provided by the publisher)
Using classic weapons, especially single-shot rifles like the M1 Garand, makes for some enjoyable shooting galleries between cutscenes. Shotguns or long-range rifles feel appropriately deadly, capable of taking out an enemy with a single shot and sending their lifeless body to the ground. Wielding the powerful Gewehr 43 sniper rifle or using the iconic Walther P38 pistol against an onslaught of enemies can deliver some exhilarating moments. Automatic weapons, however, don’t feel entirely accurate or powerful, even when you feather the trigger as you take aim at enemy threats.
Some of my favorite firearms to use in Above and Beyond include the lever-action repeater and the sawed-off shotgun. The repeater feels more like something out of a Western than a World War II epic; once you shoot down an enemy, you flick the right controller to reload it, causing the repeater to spin in your hands as if you were a Wild West trick shooter. Likewise, the sawed-off shotgun requires you to flick the right controller to flip the barrel open, throw your shells in with the left controller, and flick the right controller closed before you fire off another shot. Most of the guns have standard reload animations and functions, and while I really enjoyed these quirkier animations, they feel tonally disparate from a game featuring short documentaries of real veterans.
As you play through Above and Beyond, you unlock new documentaries that feature World War II vets telling their stories. Available in the Gallery section of the main menu, these videos are genuinely great, giving a platform to an important generation. It’s moving to hear these men speak of their past, and while I expected a bleak set of films, it was a very human and uplifting experience watching them–the introductory video starts with a veteran who notes that one of his medals is for his professional conduct but that it just means no one caught him, laughing like a grandfather being silly with his grandkids. So, it’s disappointing then that Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond never strives to do anything meaningful with its own story, sidestepping the reality of war and the humanity of those in it.
The campaign too often forces you to stand or sit still, watching the stilted characters and uninteresting stories play out around you. A lot of the dialogue and situations are standard WWII fare, and none of these moments carry much personality or weight. You’re often not a central player in any of these scenes, either, acting as more of a spectator than a character. A cutscene in any non-VR game is easy enough to sit through, but the dynamic changes when you’re plugged into virtual reality and literally standing around as characters talk about how they’re going to foil the Nazis’ latest plan.
During these scenes, there are moments when you’re asked to contribute, such as giving a thumbs up or choosing where squadmates will be for an ambush. However, these moments don’t feel particularly impactful when the events actually play out. And even if your choices and actions had more weight, the content of Above and Beyond’s setpieces is still bland and uninspired; as I stood there and waited for characters whose names I had forgotten to finish their conversations–sometimes pulling out my pistol to dump a few magazines into the air–I couldn’t help but get fidgety and want to stop playing altogether.
Conversely, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond’s multiplayer is all action. Moving around a map, finding other players, and shooting them down is satisfying, especially when you’re on a good run. As fun as it is to shoot players in a non-VR game, there’s a sense of shocking immediacy when you see a real person running at you and a greater sense of accomplishment when you dominate the other team. Your own movements, accuracy, and reflexes get you that win. It’s exciting in these moments, but being on the other end of a dominant player’s iron sights can quickly turn frustrating, as racking up respawn timers means a lot of (literally) standing around and waiting to get back into the action.
Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond (screenshots provided by the publisher)
Most multiplayer rounds turn into games of deathmatch, even if it’s an objective-based match type. This is typical of many first-person shooters, but it feels exacerbated here by a lack of explanation for modes like Mad Bomber. Above and Beyond tells you that you score points by planting your bombs and defusing enemy bombs, but that’s it. This vague direction devolves each match into who can get the most kills, which gets you points anyway and almost always decides the winner.
This wouldn’t be as disappointing if not for the low player count. In the majority of my matches post-release, I’ve only been up against one real player. Above and Beyond fills each match with bots, so you’re never left without a full game, but they’re still bots and can’t pose the same challenge or satisfaction as having to outplay a real person. And while the guns are exciting to use, I found my personal favourite to be overpowered. The Repeater has a fast reload speed and is always a one-hit kill. It’s not so bad when you’re facing another player who can easily take you out if you miss your first shot, but when it’s you in a match with mostly bots, it becomes a relatively simple shooting gallery.
Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond is a disappointing return to the classic series. While its gunplay is satisfying, the moments where it shines are all too brief, stunted by cutscenes that force you to stand in place and spectate a story that rarely includes you or your character. On the other hand, the multiplayer has potential but is in need of more players and some balance tweaks. There are some incredible World War II games that are worth playing even today, but Above and Beyond falls short in far too many ways to be considered among them.
Sephiroth, the new character in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster, is available now for anyone who has purchased the Fighters Pass Volume 2. However, unlike previous DLC fighters, you need to defeat Sephiroth to unlock him, otherwise he remains locked for another week. The fight is live now, and thankfully, unlocking him is very easy.
When you start the game up, if you have the Fighters Pass, the Sephiroth Challenge will appear on the main menu, and you can start it by pressing the + button.
The Sephiroth Challenge is in the top-left of the start screen.
The Sephiroth Challenge is a HP battle on his new stage, Northern Cave, and there’s three difficulty settings you can fight the Final Fantasy villain at. Doing so is not much of a challenge, especially on Easy, meaning that Sephiroth is effectively available today for players of almost all skill levels.
The difficulty selection screen.
On Easy, Sephiroth will have 100HP, on Normal, he’ll have 150HP, and on Very Hard he’ll have 200HP. The description for “Easy” difficulty reads “For players who want a near-certain victory,” which is more or less accurate, as your attacks do more damage at this difficulty, too. On Normal, I was able to defeat Sephiroth with ease as Cloud, taking just 4% damage. Very Hard is much more of a challenge, although Smash Bros. pros are unlikely to break too much of a sweat.
Defeat Sephiroth on any difficulty and the character, as well as the Northern Cave stage and all of its associated music tracks, will be unlocked immediately.
Some people make TV watching an event, complete with refreshments, dimmed lights, and a snuggly pet. Others treat it like background noise, something to fill their ears while they work or do other things. Netflix is testing the perfect feature for those background-noise watchers: an audio-only mode.
Netflix is currently testing an audio-only mode on Android phones, Android Police reports. The feature is not yet available even to all Android subscribers, so you’ll have to check if you have it. If you do, the screen will show a “Video Off” button when you tap the screen in full-screen mode. Tapping the button turns on the audio-only mode, which just has a blank screen beneath the Netflix menu items.
This feature is, again, in testing. It may never roll out completely. If it does, though, it could pair well with the huge library of shows that offer Audio Description, in which a narrator describes what’s happening in between character dialogue. Together, these two features would turn a show like The Queens Gambit into a high-production-value audiobook. The mode will definitely save battery life since it’s not showing images, and we’re betting it’ll save on data, though we’re not able to verify that at this time.
Netflix has not yet commented on the future availability of this feature on other platforms or to all users.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
In a disappointing year, these films and shows stood out.
We surely don’t need to tell you that 2020 was a year full of disappointment. And not just in the countless movies and shows that were cancelled or delayed due to the pandemic–even among the entertainment that did come out, a lot of it was just plain not as good as we’d hoped it would be.
And that’s really the essence of disappointment. We aren’t saying these were the worst movies and shows of 2020–just the ones that totally failed to live up to our expectations. You might even find something on this list that you quite enjoyed, and in that case, well, me asking you not to yell at us about it in the comments probably won’t stop you, so you know what? Go right ahead.
It won’t change the fact that we had high hopes for these movies and shows, and in the end, we found them disappointing. After you’re done feeling disappointed too, check out some of our other end-of-2020 galleries:
]]>
]]>
Lovecraft Country
HBO’s Lovecraft Country was an unfortunate case of simply trying to do too much with all the best intentions. Rather than updating the source material, the novel of the same name by Matt Ruff, it tried to simultaneously rigidly adhere to the episodic, vignette-style storytelling passed down by the book and knit things together with a cohesive, overarching plot. The end result was a messy, confusing ball of yarn where nothing ever managed to click.
]]>
]]>
New Mutants
To be fair, no one really expected much from the incredibly delayed New Mutants, so calling it a “disappointment” may be a bit harsh–but similar to Tenet, this movie was hit hard by the studio’s staunch refusal to provide an accessible home release during the pandemic. Depending on where you’re located, you may have been able to see the movie at a drive-in or in a “socially distant” theater, but chances are you had to wait a few months until it was available to watch at home, and by then, any chance of having a New Mutants conversation that would actually engage anyone was pretty much 0.
]]>
]]>
Mulan
Disney’s Mulan does get some points for skipping the ill-fated theatrical release gambit and going straight to Disney+, but unfortunately even the accessibility and the overall nostalgia for the animated classic couldn’t redeem this one. In addition to behind-the-scenes controversies about production, live-action Mulan ruthlessly stripped the familiar story of its charm and fun, deleting every musical number and adding muddled messages about family, responsibility, and duty. This movie was anything but worth fighting for.
]]>
]]>
Space Force
The thing about Space Force is it should have been amazing. Steve Carell teaming up once again with The Office creator Greg Daniels for a Netflix comedy poking fun at the ridiculous political climate we’re living in sounds like a wonderful idea. What’s more, it arrived in a year where Daniels delivered one of TV’s best new comedies in Amazon Prime’s Upload. Unfortunately, practically nothing about Space Force was entertaining. The comedy felt forced–outside of occasional moments provided by John Malkovich–the characters were underdeveloped, and there was nobody to actually root for. Unlike Carell’s portrayal of Michael Scott, his turn as General Mark R. Naird was uninteresting. It didn’t help that Carell used a bizarre and unnatural sounding accent for the entire season.
]]>
]]>
Utopia
Utopia had all the ingredients for success: It was adapted from a cult hit British show by Gone Girl and Sharp Objects author Gillian Flynn, it has a stellar cast including John Cusack, Jessica Rothe, and Rainn Wilson, and it oozes style. But for a show about a comic book that seems to predict global disasters, the series demonstrated a startling amount of disdain for its potentially nerdy audience. To top it off, the epic one-two-three punch of a mass shooting played for laughs, a brutal torture scene, and a cruel but pointless main character death all within the first two episodes provided viewers with the perfect excuse to stop watching the show entirely.
]]>
]]>
Avenue 5
The prospect of Veep creator Armando Iannucci applying his formidable talents to a sci-fi comedy starring Hugh Laurie made Avenue 5 one of early 2020’s most anticipated shows. But while it definitely wasn’t the year’s worst space-themed sitcom (hello Space Force), the odd, uneven mix of dark humor and character drama simply didn’t work. HBO has renewed the series for Season 2, so hopefully Iannucci and his team get it right next time.
]]>
]]>
Ratched
Ratched is a show that, on the surface, seems like a really interesting idea. A One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest prequel that focuses on the origins of Nurse Ratched, with American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy at the helm and Sarah Paulson playing the lead. What’s not to love? Unfortunately, pretty much all of it. From plot holes to flat out uninteresting characters and plots, Ratched doesn’t work like some of Murphy’s better projects–the aforementioned AHS and American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ, for instance. Paired with his other project in 2020, Hollywood, and it’s a less than stellar start for his creations under the Netflix banner.
]]>
]]>
The Craft: Legacy
The Craft (1996) is one of the most beloved witch movies of its era–and for great reason. It’s hard to get better than the achingly ’90s aesthetic of the whole thing, on top of the iconic performances by scream queens like Neve Campbell and Fairuza Balk. Unfortunately, its successor, The Craft: Legacy, failed to hit the mark in any way, and instead of delivering a new take on a quotable cult classic, ground itself to a forgettable halt with cringe-worthy, dated dialogue and a frustratingly on-the-nose plot that never lived up to its name.
]]>
]]>
Freaky
Serial killer Freaky Friday should be the greatest movie all the time. What’s more, the people swapping bodies are Vince Vaughn and Katheryn Newton, which means Vaughn spends much of the movie acting like a teenage girl chasing a brutal murderer. And yes, Freaky let us down–specifically because of Vaughn’s portrayal of Millie, the teen girl in question. There’s no nuance to what he’s doing, nor does it reflect–in any way–the version of Millie Newton plays at the beginning of the film. Instead, it’s as if he’s simply parodying teen girl stereotypes. That could have worked had the movie not introduced Millie as an awkward and downtrodden teen girl who didn’t fit in.
]]>
]]>
Quibi
Yeah, an entire streaming service made the list. Quibi said it was going to change the way we watch content in 2020. What it failed to question, though, was whether we actually wanted that. We didn’t and in the end Quibi’s bite-sized shows, which lasted 7-10 minutes and could only be watched on your phone–landed with a resounding thud. You lasted less than eight months, Quibi. And, honestly, that was too long.
]]>
]]>
The many “COVID endings” of 2020 shows
When a storm is coming, it’s easy to plug your ears and pretend everything will be okay. All of television production did exactly that in the early months of 2020, and our shows suffered for it. Rather than being put on hold, countless shows ended with hastily-produced episodes that left much to be desired. Shows from veterans like Grey’s Anatomy to freshman series like CW’s Nancy Drew ended on shoddy cliffhangers or simply just stopped. We’re glad they put safety over audiences’ satisfaction, and we blame the pandemic, not the shows themselves. But it was still a disappointing year for many series.
]]>
Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company
If you missed these sleeper hits during your quarantine binges, now is the time to dive in.
Believe it or not, there were still plenty of TV shows and movies in 2020 that somehow flew under the radar, despite most of us having nothing better to do during lockdowns and quarantine than watch TV shows and movies, and despite there being many fewer releases than we’re used to.
If anything, 2020 was proof positive that even with a scaled back output, the entertainment industry is still providing way more content than any one person can possibly consume in a year–which might be great news for you, if you’re looking to send this year off with some new things to watch! We’ve compiled a list of our unsung favorites of the year, ranging from epic sci-fi miniseries to horror movies that were released directly onto streaming platforms. They’re things you may have heard of and forgotten about, like Devs, or things you may have missed entirely like Color Out Of Space, a Lovecraftian Nic Cage movie that actually did hit theaters–all the way back in January, a lifetime ago.
And don’t forget to check out some of our other 2020 wrap-up galleries:
Writer/director Alex Garland is best known for his movies Ex Machina and Annihilation but this year saw him jumping from the big screen to the small with a limited series for FX on Hulu called Devs. Conceptually, it falls right into Garland’s ouvre–it’s the story of a bleeding edge Silicon Valley tech company called Amaya and its mysterious Devs division as they work to develop a system that has the potential to not only change the world, but change history as well.
Devs is a lavish, poetic, and surprisingly human entry into Garland’s filmography that features some powerhouse performances by actors like Sonoya Mizuno, Allison Pill, and Nick Offerman. It’s somewhere between hard sci-fi and dream-like philosophy and available to watch in its entirety on Hulu, right now.
]]>
]]>
The Vast Of Night
While The Vast of Night premiered at festivals in 2019, it didn’t get a wide release on Prime Video until May of this year, making it woefully easy to miss–but thankfully, just as easy to find and watch right away.
Set in 1950s New Mexico, The Vast of Night is a love letter to vintage sci-fi like The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone. Its barebones budget was poured entirely into making it as stylish and artfully minimalistic as possible while maintaining a perfect, eerie ambience suited to a sci-fi mystery. Teenage switchboard operator Fay accidentally uncovers a radio signal that could be alien in origin with the help of disillusioned disc jockey Everett, sending the two of them on a whirlwind quest to find the truth in their small town.
]]>
]]>
Dark
Don’t feel bad if you missed the conclusion of Dark’s 3-season run this year; it dropped over the summer, when everyone was more concerned about small things like the global pandemic and the looming presidential election. Besides, the whole thing was in German and the dub sucked, meaning you basically need to watch it with subtitles, which turns some viewers off. But this pitch-black time travel drama managed to weave one of the most complex, but somehow still cohesive, sci-fi stories we’ve ever seen.
]]>
]]>
The Untamed
The Untamed has all the campy, low-budget charm of old school action shows like Xena as it follows the fictionalized, fantasy world of ancient Chinese cultivators–people who blend deep religious practice and spirituality to gain magical powers and work towards immortality. It stars two pop idols-turned-actors, Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan, as star-crossed lovers from two diametrically opposed cultivator sects as they are swept up in all the political and social drama of the world around them.
Think Game of Thrones mixed with a little Avatar: The Last Airbender, plus some of The Witcher for flavor and you’re on the right track as far as the overall feel.
]]>
]]>
Mythic Quest and Ted Lasso
With all the stellar streaming services out there, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and even HBO Max, Apple TV+ is a tough sell. That’s why you shouldn’t feel bad about missing some of its best offerings, the video game development workplace comedy Mythic Quest and the feel-good sports comedy Ted Lasso. But if you’re at all considering an Apple TV+ subscription, these two alone are so delightful that they’re almost worth the price of admission.
]]>
]]>
Possessor
As a filmmaker, Brandon Cronenberg is quickly carving out his own niche-within-a-niche, creating movies that totally seem like movies his father, the legendary David Cronenberg, might have made in his day. The younger Cronenberg’s latest, Possessor, is the freaky sci-fi horror story of an assassin (Mandy’s Andrea Riseborough) who possesses the bodies of unwitting accomplices and carries out grisly murders on behalf of shadowy clients. It’s arresting and horrifying in equal measure, but largely went under the radar this year.
]]>
]]>
Raised by Wolves
For an HBO show, Raised by Wolves didn’t reach the hype levels of your Games of Thrones or your Lovecraft Countries. Even in that company, though, Raised is exceedingly weird. It tells the story of a pair of androids (Amanda Collin and Abubakar Salim) attempting to restart humanity on a distant planet, whose lives are thrown into chaos when an ark ship full of religious zealots arrives. With Ridley Scott’s name all over it, it’s full of big ideas and unsettling imagery, and we’re looking forward to Season 2.
]]>
]]>
Tales from the Loop
If you’re a fan of horror and sci-fi art, there’s a good chance you’ve run into the work of Simon Stålenhag at some point. He may not be a household name but his art, typically featuring some deeply surreal (but eerily familiar) landscapes invaded by retro-futuristic technology or monsters, has an instantly recognizable aesthetic. And it’s that aesthetic that inspired Amazon Prime’s Tales from the Loop, a series set within Stålenhag’s worlds, populated by Stålenhag’s creatures, told in the style of something like The Twilight Zone. It’s episodic, haunting, and at times deeply moving–don’t sleep on this one.
]]>
]]>
Synchronic
Directing duo Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson haven’t disappointed yet, and their next movie, Synchronic, may be worth checking out when it hits digital on-demand services on January 12 (it’s currently out in a limited number of theaters). The indie time-travel drama features Anthony Mackie as a terminally ill man who discovers a street drug that can send users back in time, and uses it to try and rescue his friend’s (Jamie Dornan) daughter (Ally Ioannides). Benson and Moorhead’s previous movies include excellent sci-fi/horror mash-ups like Resolution and The Endless, so this should be a good watch in January.
]]>
]]>
The Trial of the Chicago Seven
Aaron Sorkin’s second turn in the director’s chair proved to be an emotional retelling of the true story of the Chicago Seven, a group of anti-Vietnam War activists and protestors who were tried in federal court in the late ’60s. It didn’t make many waves, but it’s streaming now on Netflix, and definitely worth a watch.
]]>
]]>
Color Out of Space
January 2020 feels like a million years ago, a time when we still had hope, because the rest of the year hadn’t happened yet. Also, Color Out of Space, which is maybe the best H.P. Lovecraft adaptation yet made, had just been released, and we were still riding the high from infamous cult director Richard Stanley returning from a nearly-two-decades-long filmmaking hiatus to make a cosmically weird sci-fi horror movie starring Nic Cage.
]]>
]]>
Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens
Comedian turned actor Awkwafina has been having an incredible run and her Comedy Central series (that is now available to watch on HBO Max) Nora From Queens is absolutely no exception. The perfect blend of raunchy and heartfelt, the series tackles everything from accidental arson to dating app invention, you know, normal Millennial stuff.
]]>
]]>
Fargo Season 4
The sprawling scope of the latest season of Fargo was a lot to take in. Still, it managed to present an ambitious and satisfying take on the series’ particular focus on organized crime, all while being something of a loose prequel. Focusing on two crime families in Kansas during the 1950s–the African-American gang the Cannon Limited, and the Italian-American Fadda Family–their ensuing conflict reveals that in the pursuit of success in America, the most underprivileged often have to fight amongst themselves to get ahead. Oh yeah, and there’s an awkward nurse moonlighting as a serial killer thrown into the mix. With particular shout outs to Chris Rock, E’myri Crutchfield, and Jessie Buckley, the ensemble cast dug deep in playing off the oddities and hypocrisy of life in the 1950s, all with the show’s signature American-Midwest stylings and humor were firing on all cylinders. The season’s standout episode was East/West, which not only served as a surprisingly touching tribute to The Wizard of Oz, but also allowed two of the season’s lesser-seen characters to shine.
]]>
]]>
Birds of Prey
Birds of Prey managed to sneak in under the wire as one of the year’s only superhero releases and theatrical blockbusters before the quarantine shut down most of the entertainment industry–and, despite getting a wide release, it still struggled to perform in the box office. However, those low numbers were anything but indicative of the movie’s success in the DCEU at large. Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn shined as a larger-than-life live-action Looney Tune, surrounded by a cast of supporting characters that we can’t wait to see more from in the future.
]]>
]]>
Palm Springs
Andy Samberg was once known for rapping about his private parts and mugging for the camera, but he’s slowly become one of the most entertaining and underrated actors in Hollywood. Nowhere is that more apparent than 2020’s Palm Springs, a movie we’re afraid to even describe lest we spoil the twist. Samberg takes an inherently silly concept and, with help from co-star Cristin Milioti, turns it into a smart, funny, and touching metaphysical love story
]]>
]]>
Stargirl
The formula for DC superhero shows is well-worn by Arrow, Flash, and the rest of the Arrowverse. This year, though, brought us a new contender in Stargirl. Stargirl began life on the now-defunct DC Universe streaming service before shifting to the CW. It tells the story of a young girl saddled with a lot of responsibility in a very weird town, but grounds the goings-on by always tying back to the theme of family–even for the genuinely scary villains. Great performances from Brec Bassinger and Luke Wilson bring a surprisingly well-crafted show to the next level.
]]>
Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company
