Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Alexandre Willaume, Carsten Bjørnlund, Carsten Bjornlund, Carsten Norgaard, Charlotte Munck, Elena Arndt-Jensen, Ellen Hillingsø, Ellen Hillingso, Ferdinand Glad Bach, Lise Baastrup, Lotte Andersen, Lykke Sand Michelsen, Mille Dinesen, Morten Vang Simonsen, Nikolaj Groth, Sara Hjort Ditlevsen, Sofie Juul Nielsen, Tessa Hoder, Tommy Kenter
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Alyssa Cheatham, Amaya Press, Caroline Martin, Danny Deferrari, Denis O'Hare, Desmin Borges, Emily Robinson, Fenton Lawless, Francesca Root-Dodson, Gabrielle Reidy, Hettienne Park, John Carroll Lynch, Kathryn Hahn, Katrine Hoyt, Kayli Carter, Kelly Miller, Kerry Flanagan, Lizzy DeClement, Maddie Corman, Molly Shannon, Paul Giamatti, Samantha Buck, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Tracee Chimo
Director: Tamara Jenkins
Genre: Drama, Western
Actor: Jack O'Connell, Jack O'Connell, Jeff Daniels, Jessica Sula, Joleen Baughman, Kim Coates, Luke Robertson, Merritt Wever, Michelle Dockery, Rio Alexander, Sam Waterston, Samuel Marty, Scoot McNairy, Tantoo Cardinal, Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Genre: Action & Adventure, Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Actor: Adam Croasdell, Adetokumboh M'Cormack, Chris Diamantopoulos, Claudia Christian, Danny Jacobs, David Shaughnessy, Derek Phillips, Elias Toufexis, Fred Tatasciore, Jason O'Mara, Jason O'Mara, Jennifer Hale, Jessica Henwick, Mamie Gummer, Matt Lowe, Matthew Mercer, Melina Kanakaredes, Vanessa Marshall
Genre: Documentary
Actor: David Chang, Peter Meehan
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Actor: Ashley Walters, Geoff Bell, Giacomo Mancini, Kane Robinson, Kierston Wareing, Malcolm Kamulete, Nicholas Pinnock, Sharon Duncan Brewster, Shone Romulus, Xavien Russell
This new documentary is about the exact scale to which social media is harming us, as testified to by people from the industry: ex-executives at Google, Instagram, Facebook, and even the ex-President of Pinterest. All have left their companies for (incredibly valid) ethical concerns that they share here.
It's a blend of interview footage and a fiction film that follows a family who feels more distant because of social media. This allows to see the implications of what the interviewees are saying in real life but quite frankly it also serves as a welcome break from the intensity of their words. How intense? One of them predicts civil war within 20 years.
Genre: Crime, Documentary, Drama
Actor: Catalina Garayoa, Chase Penny, Chris Grundy, Gavin White, Jaron Lanier, Jason Potter, Kara Hayward, Laura Obiols, Lynn Fox, Renée DiResta, Roger McNamee, Skyler Gisondo, Sophia Hammons, Tristan Harris, Vincent Kartheiser
Director: Jeff Orlowski
The Siege of Jadotville is a different kind of war movie. It doesn’t recount famous battles or portray renowned heroes - instead, it’s about heroes and events that went completely unnoticed. Namely, the Irish 35 Battalion ‘A’ Company - a group of youngsters who are sent out on a U.N mission to the Congo. What was supposed to be a simple positioning quickly becomes one of the most sought-after locations and the battalion of 150 ‘war-virgins” find themselves up against 3000 mercenaries led by experienced French commandants. And what a tribute this film is: it’s well-paced, powerfully shot, and the acting, led by Jamie Dornan on one side and Guillaume Canet on the other, is absolutely perfect.
Genre: Drama, Thriller, War
Actor: Alexander Tops, Ashish Gangapersad, Charlie Kelly, Conor MacNeill, Conor Quinlan, Danny Keogh, Danny Sapani, Emmanuelle Seigner, Fiona Glascott, Fionn O'Shea, Fionn O'Shea, Garth Breytenbach, Gérard Rudolf, Guillaume Canet, Jamie Dornan, Jason O'Mara, Jason O'Mara, Jordan Mifsud, Leon Clingman, Luc Van Gunderbeeck, Mark Strong, Michael McElhatton, Mikael Helmuth, Mikael Persbrandt, Mike Noble, Richard Lukunku, Robert Hobbs, Ronan Raftery, Sam Keeley, Thulasizwe Kubheka
Director: Richie Smyth
Don’t worry.
Adam Sandler doesn’t suck here.
This is a beautiful family comedy directed by Noah Baumbach (Frances Ha, The Squid and the Whale).
Sandler plays a recently divorced man (as he tends to do) called Danny (as he’s usually called). Danny moves in with his father, played by Dustin Hoffman, who himself is dealing with feelings of failure.
Both of them are joined by other members of the family, including Danny’s half-brother, played by Ben Stiller. Their family dynamics are portrayed in a beautiful and sometimes moving way. Director Baumbach proves he’s so good, he can make even Adam Sandler sound and look genuine.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Adam David Thompson, Adam Driver, Adam Sandler, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Barbara Danicka, Ben Stiller, Benjamin Thys, Candice Bergen, Carlos Jacott, Cindy Cheung, Danny Flaherty, David Cromer, Dustin Hoffman, Elizabeth Marvel, Emma Thompson, Gayle Rankin, Germar Terrell Gardner, Gibson Frazier, Grace Van Patten, Greta Gerwig, Jake Perlin, James Hamilton, Jared Sandler, Jarrett Winters Morley, Jerry Matz, Joel Bernstein, Jordan Carlos, Josh Hamilton, Judd Hirsch, Justin Winley, Lyne Renee, Mandy Siegfried, Marquis Rodriguez, Matthew Shear, McManus Woodend, Michael Chernus, Mickey Sumner, Nico Baumbach, Rebecca Miller, Ronald Peet, Sakina Jaffrey, Sigourney Weaver, Teniel Humeston, Victor Cruz
Director: Noah Baumbach
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Alexander Calvert, Ava Grace Cooper, Blake Jenner, Chris Shields, Christian Lagasse, Christian Michael Cooper, Daniel Bacon, Eric Keenleyside, Hailee Steinfeld, Haley Lu Richardson, Hayden Szeto, Jena Skodje, Katie Stuart, Kavandeep Hayre, Kelly Fremon Craig, Kirsten Robek, Kyra Sedgwick, Laine MacNeil, Laura Ward, Lauren K. Robek, Lina Renna, Lyle Reginald, Meredith Monroe, Nesta Cooper, Woody Harrelson
Director: Kelly Fremon Craig
When I learned about Street Food the first time, I was reluctant to sit through yet another Netflix cooking show. They’ve made so many that when I want to bring up an episode with a friend I forget if I saw it in Ugly Delicious, Chef’s Table, Salt Fat Acid Heat or others. I can’t say that Street Food is a different format. It uses the same slow-motion takes of food, the same close-ups on chefs and the same style of interviews. Here is the thing though. Street Food might be similar to other Netflix cooking shows, but it’s also better than them in almost every way. Much better. It’s only 30 minutes long per episode, so it doesn’t indulge in egos or stray into unrelated stories. It doesn’t showcase kitchens where only the rich eat, like Chef’s Table often does, but stalls that are accessible to everyone. And in the best way, it connects the story of the food makers to the food. The show is mostly about middle-aged to senior women, and people who do not make that much money. It’s not about glamorous young chefs. It’s about food stripped away from any marketing or showbiz. Real cooking, real chefs, real diners. In its unpretentious nature, Street Food feels euphoric.
Genre: Documentary
Actor: Daniel Lee Gray, Philip Hersh
Clocking just 15 minutes per episode, Special is like a candy bar. It’s quick to consume but sweet as sugar. This new Netflix Original is set around a gay man with cerebral palsy, a disability that affects his body coordination but not his brain. As Ryan puts it in the first episode, it’s a disability that doesn’t make him normal but also is not severe enough for him to be part of the “cool disabled crew”. Ryan decides to turn his life around by pretending his disability is due to a car accident. People around him, especially at the exploitative millennial magazine “eggwoke” where he is an intern, start treating him differently. The car accident story provides a more accessible framework for them to understand his condition. It’s hard to believe a TV show can come out today and still manage to be so different from the rest, but Special does it. In other words, and I’m sorry to be this cheeky; Special is special.
Genre: Comedy
Actor: Augustus Prew, Jessica Hecht, Julie Cude-Eaton, Kat Rogers, Marla Mindelle, Patrick Fabian, Punam Patel, Ryan O'Connell, Ryan O'Connell, Samantha Lee
Nadia is a game developer and proud aging hipster living in New York. Her story starts at her thirty-sixth birthday party looking at herself in the bathroom mirror. On her way out, she finds a friend who hands her a joint laced with cocaine, “that’s how the Israelis do it” her friend says.
Nadia hooks up with a guy and they stop at a bodega on the way back to her place. So far everything seems normal (in a New York-hipster kind of way). But on her way out of the bodega, she is hit by a car and dies. The story restarts, at the same birthday party, staring at herself in the mirror.
Russian Doll can be summarized in what Nadia screams later that night: “the universe is trying to f*ck with me, and I refuse to engage”. Her strong personality and the events that happen to her allow the show to explore themes of vulnerability, trauma, and even life and death. Russian Doll repeats almost every episode, but its originality and plot twists make it more refreshing with every repeat.
This rhythm takes some quick getting used to, but the moment you do you will not be able to look away. Natasha Lyonne from Orange is the New Black is masterful at playing Nadia. She co-created the show with Amy Poehler and Sleeping With Other People director, Leslye Headland. She packs a lot of the originality and character that possibly makes Russian Doll the most fun and original show you will watch in 2019.
Genre: Comedy, Mystery
Actor: Brendan Sexton III, Brooke Timber, Charlie Barnett, Chloe Sevigny, Dascha Polanco, Elizabeth Ashley, George Aloi, Greta Lee, Jeremy Bobb, Jes Davis, Natasha Lyonne, Rebecca Henderson, Whitney Devlin, Yul Vazquez
This beautiful, realistic, and nostalgic anime movie about childhood is one that almost anyone can relate to. Set in the year of 1982, twenty-seven-year-old Taeko Okajima is traveling to the countryside by train. Along her journey, she gets flashbacks of her childhood: mostly in elementary school, stealing glances at a boy, and navigating puberty. The movie goes back and forth between past and present, easily making one long for sun-filled summers of yesteryear and silly jokes between playfriends. As well as telling a story about Taeko's past, Only Yesterday also tells a story about her present, and the combined realism of the plotline with the beautiful animation grips you and doesn’t let go. Only Yesterday truly feels like home.
Genre: Animation, Drama, Romance
Actor: Chie Kitagawa, Ichirō Nagai, Issey Takahashi, Masahiro Ito, Masahiro Itou, Mayumi Iizuka, Mayumi Izuka, Michie Terada, Miki Imai, Toshiro Yanagiba, Yoko Honna, Yorie Yamashita, Yoshimasa Kondô, Yuki Minowa, Yuuki Masuda
Director: Isao Takahata
TV has never been as diverse as it’s been today, but despite the multitude of perspectives, nailing an authentic and enjoyable story that’s outside the realm of the classic white experience continues to be tricky. How do you relay very real dangers like gang violence and poverty without undermining universal teenage concerns like heartbreak and rejection?
Enter On My Block, a series that manages to stuff many things on its small plate without compromise. It’s funny and charming, but also smart and serious when it needs to be. Unlike a number of teen sitcoms before it, On My Block is in touch with the real world, and it’s unafraid to shove its characters into difficult situations at every and any moment—not just during special episodes. This authentic setup coupled with its very likable and well-drawn leads is sure to draw in viewers of all leanings.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Brett Gray, Danny Ramirez, Diego Tinoco, Jason Genao, Jessica Marie Garcia, Julian Lerma, Julio Macias, Meiyee Apple Tam, Paula Garces, Peggy Ann Blow, Ronni Hawk, Sierra Capri