356 Movies Like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Page 23)

A Girl and an Astronaut is a series that wants to be science fiction, but can’t stop itself from diving into its romance. Starting from 2052, the series imagines a non-dystopian future, with successful versions of tech currently in the works. However, this is intercut with shots from 2022, where fighter pilots Niko and Bogdan have a Top Gun-esque rivalry, only with an added love triangle with Marta. Something here could have been done to make the sci-fi and the romance more relevant with each other, since the heart of the premise is a tragedy of lost love. However, the supposed stakes of the love triangle don’t feel real, as immediately, we know that Bogdan and Marta end up having a loveless marriage. The resulting show isn’t downright terrible, as the cinematography and visual effects are stunning. But the series feels like it should have been two separate stories, or at least made the romance feel compelling enough to watch.

Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Andrzej Chyra, Anna Cieślak, Grzegorz Damięcki, Jakub Sasak, Jędrzej Hycnar, Magdalena Boczarska, Magdalena Cielecka, Vanessa Aleksander

Director: Bartosz Prokopowicz

Rating: TV-MA

In the previous centuries, people were born into and died without ever being able to change their status. Nobles remained nobles and peasants remained peasants. But around the Renaissance, the idea of commerce and education allowed some leeway for men to reach a higher station, and for the Florios of Sicily, they’re able to reach higher spaces through the sheer force of will. This is an interesting idea, and The Lions of Sicily by Stefania Auci is able to capture it, but its show counterpart falters in depicting this. The sets and costumes are up to par, but the screenplay is unable to balance between the backstories, with the episode slipping confusedly in and between timelines.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Donatella Finocchiaro, Eduardo Scarpetta, Michele Riondino, Miriam Leone, Vinicio Marchioni

Director: Paolo Genovese

Rating: TV-MA

It would be unfair to demand the same things out of The Continental that the John Wick film series already does so well. And this three-episode prequel definitely works as its own animal; even if you haven't seen those increasingly elaborate Keanu Reeves movies, this miniseries easily finds a whole group of sympathetic characters worth rooting for and builds to a series of exciting set pieces full of personality and excellent choreography. The groundedness of The Continental's ensemble of heroes emerging from the seedy streets of this fictionalized 1970s New York works surprisingly well against the arrogance of the show's villains. And the world they all inhabit is rendered just as slickly as in the films.

But in its search for an identity of its own, The Continental becomes a reminder for why the John Wick movies work so well—and why this series just can't capture the same spark. Those are simple, primal movies that contrast Reeves' stoic, mythic protagonist against a bizarre world of colorful enemies. The Continental, in contrast, borrows from many hardboiled crime dramas but never actually provides any insight into the systems or rules that govern all the factions involved. Individual characters may achieve their goals by the end, but it's ultimately hard to see how they add to the grander ideas of revenge and redemption at play.

Genre: Action, Action & Adventure, Crime, Thriller

Actor: Ben Robson, Colin Woodell, Hubert Point-Du Jour, Jeremy Bobb, Katie McGrath, Mel Gibson, Mishel Prada, Peter Greene

Rating: TV-MA

Renegade Nell is an upbeat historical fantasy series boasting great chemistry from the main cast. It's anchored by our fiery lead actress Nell (Louisa Harland), whose colorful bloodlust and banter always bring a lot of energy to the show. Her fun, easy dynamic with her siblings and allies on the run is reason enough to make this a light, comforting watch. Plus, with a plot revolving around murder, revenge, and accusations, it is easy to be invested, with all its moving parts leaving you curious and wanting more. Episodes can feel a bit stuffed, but if you stay beyond the second episode, you're probably staying for the whole thing.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Adrian Lester, Alice Kremelberg, Bo Bragason, Craig Parkinson, Enyi Okoronkwo, Florence Keen, Frank Dillane, Jake Dunn, Joely Richardson, Louisa Harland, Nick Mohammed, Pip Torrens

Rating: TV-14

This is a 3-episode true crime docuseries that shows great care to the victims and affected parties of this particular case. Whether they're detectives, autopsy specialists, victims' relatives, witnesses—all seem to share in this safe space, exploring thought processes behind why a certain place or person might be targeted, while at the same time extending support to the queer community directly harmed by this trauma. The production and reenactments are sleek without being overbearing or needing to sensationalize unnecessary details. The only time the atmosphere shifts is when we see the perpetrator's perspective, which is a kind of creepy that draws no sympathy or intrigue to itself. Its pace can drag in the middle of an episode, but it's a true crime mini-series with a straightforward, respectful approach, and these days that's more than enough.

Genre: Crime, Documentary

Actor: Debbie Pollack, Katrin Faust, Lucia Lu, Miroslaw Wawak, Monika Laschke, Niklas Kohrt, Patrik Berg, Rick Hübner, Tristan Bumm

Director: Caroline Schaper, Jan Zabeil

Rating: TV-MA

Agent Elvis is the latest reimagining of the King, this time as a cool and collected James Bond-esque spy in a 60s neon-lit world. The adult animation series takes fun and unserious turns, in 1960s world history and also in Elvis’ life. The show turns faulty on-stage shows into recollecting spy trauma, poor film performances into body doubles that step in during his missions, and pins known financial troubles to a cartoon monkey. It’s an interesting approach from co-creators John Eddie and ex-wife Priscilla, along with some cool animated sequences. It would have been successful in reimagining Elvis at his best, if the comedy was funny enough to match.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Animation, Comedy

Actor: Don Cheadle, Johnny Knoxville, Kaitlin Olson, Matthew McConaughey, Niecy Nash, Tom Kenny

Rating: TV-MA

While the identity of the post-Daniel Craig James Bond hangs in limbo, the franchise is branching out into TV with this mid-octane game show, which riffs on tried-and-tested reality TV competitions: its multiple choice questions and climb-the-ladder approach to prize money are evidently borrowed from Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, while its globetrotting recalls The Amazing Race.

For all its snazzy backdrops, though, this still feels like a half-hearted effort. The editing is partly to blame: in the first two episodes, for example, we only meet four of the nine pairs, and we’re constantly jumping back to the opening challenge in the Scottish Highlands for their introductions. There’s also zero interaction between any of the duos: they never meet or even acknowledge each other's existence, which dulls the drama and leaves you to suspect their scenes were all shot entirely in isolation. (You get the same impression from Brian Cox, who plays the mysterious mastermind behind the challenges and whose vague commentary is clearly designed so editors can slot it in wherever.) While there are plenty of Easter eggs for eagle-eyed Bond fans to spot, the show is definitively of the background-watch kind of TV: moderately interesting, but never as gripping as the movies whose coattails it’s plainly riding.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Reality

Actor: Brian Cox

Starting off as the 24th(!) overall season of this long-running TV franchise at the time of its release, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon understandably treads very familiar ground: general paranoia and distrust, humanity divided into survivalist factions, a search for a cure. In its early episodes, though, this series gets a boost from its uniquely historical setting—which creates a feeling of these characters stuck in a previous century—as well as a strong focus on religious faith in the time of the apocalypse. Still, this spin-off continues to go through the same action-horror motions, sticking to what's expected at the expense of any suspense or meaningful development for its stoic title character.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Adam Nagaitis, Anne Charrier, Clémence Poésy, Laïka Blanc-Francard, Louis Puech Scigliuzzi, Norman Reedus, Romain Levi

Rating: TV-MA

Whether or not one is a fan of auto racing, a documentary series like NASCAR: Full Speed manages to stay exciting simply due to the extreme nature of the sport. It isn't just a highlight reel of wipeouts and close calls, of course, but the insights we get into how complex (and expensive) racing is—and how much these racers have put on the line for themselves—increases the tension in every lap. Still, there's a sense that Full Speed is only sticking to the stories and personalities we expect to see in this kind of show. And like many other sports docs, it can't help but begin to go through the usual motions, becoming more like white noise punctuated by bursts of thrilling action.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, William Byron

Rating: TV-MA

Today's comic book industry and cinematic universes are inextricable from popular culture, but the road to global recognition was long and arduous. Superpowered: The DC Story chronicles a fraction of that journey including the quiet beginnings of the publishing house as Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's response to being bullied, all the way to the risky investments in film and TV adaptations and championing diverse voices. The three-part series delves into the  "holy trinity" (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman) and how the cultural phenomenon of comics evolved over the years. Every era summarizes how DC creators had to overcome rigid executives, competing publishers like Marvel, and the highs and lows of relevancy in the ever-changing consumer market. With contributions from creators, innovators, directors, and actors, the attention to the politics of media and the call for diversity round out the somewhat-insightful and fan-sustained life of the DC universe. 

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Rosario Dawson

Rating: TV-14