Streaming Roulette (Oct 21st-27th): A school for Good and Evil in the woods
Friday, October 21, 2022 at 4:02PM A weekly series in which we survey new-to-streaming titles (on various services) freezing the scroll bar at random and sharing what comes up.
So you're saying -- I can't believe I'm actually saying this -- if Sophie were to kiss her true love...
THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL (2022) on Netflix
Came to this one with high hopes given that Paul Feig often makes blissfully funny and stylish movies (Spy, Bridesmaids, A Simple Favor) and the source material (yes, I've read it) is great fun...
It's the story of two best friends, witchy Agatha and beautiful Sofie, who are magically kidnapped and taken to the titular school to train to become a fairy tale heroine and villain, respectively. Sofie believes she's been placed in the wrong school - she's too much of a princess to be a witch.
Unfortunately this movie is a mess, never getting a handle on the innate subversively goofy fun of Soman Chainani's best-seller. That book would probably have been better suited to a series format given its world-building, many plot points, and dozens of characters. The movie version is also marred by both overabundant CGI and extremely broad performances from usually strong actors (Charlize Theron, Michelle Yeoh, Laurence Fishburne, Kerry Washington, etcetera) who all feel like they're playing to a room of 5 year olds rather than to young adults. Interestingly enough, the most questionable casting decision -- the beautiful Sofia Wylie as Agatha, a girl that everyone thinks is ugly (and that's a crucially important point in the book's message) -- results in the best performance. She tries to hold this unruly chaotic movie together, just as her character tries to save everyone... often from themselves. Unfortunately even she is kind of a killjoy and the book is so much more fun. [Sigh]
INTO THE WOODS (2014, Sing-Along Version) on Disney+
This is not a bad idea. The movie botches a lot of the musical's most masterful elements and its utterly crucial two act structure, but the Sondheim score is still perfect-perfect-perfect. Plus your voice probably won't be worse than Johnny Depp's! (But please let Anna Kendrick sing solo because her "On the Steps of the Palace" is just grand.)
-So leech... that's your last name???
-My whole family are Leaches sir, E-A, not E-E.
ARGENTINA 1985 (2022) on Prime
Argentina's Oscar submission is a (reportedly) crowdpleasing courtroom drama. Elisa didn't love it at Venice but maybe you will? Longtime Argentinian headliner Ricardo Darín stars as a public prosecutor risking taking on a military dictatorship
Omigod, did I tell you?
No!
Did I tell you?
No!
Did I tell you?
No!
INSIDE AMY SCHUMER (Season 5) on Paramount +
Season 4 ended in the summer of 2016. Six years later Amy Schumer's sketch comedy series is back. Can the new season live up to the hilarious (somewhat distant) past? Schumer is somehow underappreciated these days. She gave one of the best performances in The Humans (2021) and her recent dramedy series Life & Beth (on Hulu) was totally engaging once you got on its melancholy but lightly funny wavelength after a couple of episodes. Plus Amy is smart enough to surround herself with strong ensembles. Life & Beth had wonderful turns from Jonathan Groff, Michael Cera, and Laura Benanti and the first episode of this new season of her sketch show has guest spots from Olivia Munn, Bridget Everett, and Ellie Kemper, among others.
My dad would say, "Y'all need to learn. You need to know. You need to know. You need to know. You need to know"
DESCENDANT (2022) on Netflix
This is a new documentary about the discovery in 2019 of the last ship carrying enslaved people came to the US (Alabama specifically) in 1860, half a century after slavery was banned. Descendant is up for three prizes (Feature, Director, Historical Documentary) at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards.
ALTERNATES IF THOSE DON'T INTEREST YOU
[GRUNTING]
Rings of Power (season 1) on Amazon Prime You can now binge it like it's a 8½ hour movie that's just a bit shorter than the entire Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings trilogy. (Should we write about this? God, how exciting was episode six?)
My Friend Dahmer (2017) on Hulu. Netflix received a lot of online griping but big numbers for Ryan Murphy's recent Jeffrey Dahmer series. But that was just the latest in a loooong string of projects about the serial killer. Besides various documentaries there is a Jeremy Renner starring biopic from 2002 that was critically well received as well as this feature about Dahmer as a high school student with Ross Lynch in the titular role.
The New Mutants (2020) on Disney+
Shot way back in 2017 this (slightly) horror-tinged superhero drama took a torturous post-production route into theaters where it was met with bad reviews, controversies around iffy casting decisions, and the seams of different corporate agendas showing. Now it's on Disney+ if you've never seen it. We wish we could heartily recommend as a lost treasurebut alas. Still, Anya Taylor Joy wields an energy sword and the CGI "Demon Bear" is cool.
She-Hulk Attorney at Law (season 1) on Disney+ You can now binge it though it probably won't feel like a 4½ hour movie given the very episodic structure.
PREMIERING LATER THIS WEEK
Dragula: Titans (s1) Shudder Tuesday October 25th. The Boulet Brothers are back with their filthy glamorous horror with their own riff on "All Stars", top competitors from past seasons
Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities (s1) on Netflix Tuesday October 25th. Two episodes daily until Halloween
The French Dispatch (2021) on Hulu Tuesday October 25th. Underappreciated Wes Anderson if you ask us
The Good Nurse (2022) on Netflix Wednesday October 26th. Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne as night-shift nurses. But why are patients suddenly dying?
Robbing Mussolini (2022) on Netflix Wednesday October 26th. Italian heist drama
Reader Comments (6)
My Friend Dahmer is a film that had no right to be better than it actually is. I was shocked by Ross Lynch's performance as I know him more for Austin & Ally but he really captured a lot of the awkwardness and repressed anger in Dahmer. I totally recommend that film.
I saw some of Into the Woods a long time ago and thought it was OK but now I don't want to watch it. James Corden is a fucking cancer these days.
I'm confused. Is this the Into The Woods with Meryl, James Corden et al? But a sing-along version. Funny, I don't remember Johnny Depp. Maybe that's a bad thing (for him)?
I'm confused. Is this the Into The Woods with Meryl, James Corden et al? But a sing-along version. Funny, I don't remember Johnny Depp. Maybe that's a bad thing (for him)?
It’s been ages since I read and liked the book “School for Good and Evil” so I don’t really remember all the characters and plot points and don’t know what changes the movie made. But like the book, I thought it was clever fun, and kept the main ideas of the book.
There was an abundance of CGI and costumes. And I also sigh and categorize the CGI as over-abundance. But the costumes I categorize as fabulous. I didn’t realize until looking at photos afterwards, that Sophie’s “poor girl skirt” is made out of 100 fabric swatches. I’d like a close look at every costume.
I also like that the 2 leads are 18 and 21 years old, rather than mid-twenties or older playing teenagers. I was amazed at the presence 18 year old Sofia Wylie had, and her ability to ground the narrative. But then I read that she’s a Broadway veteran, having played Wednesday Addams. Long theatrical runs still really contribute to an actor’s professional foundation.
I watched Argentina 1985 yesterday and thought it was pretty brilliant. Also a useful history lesson, as almost all of my knowledge of Argentina comes from Evita.
When I started watching, the soundtrack seemed "off" and I was surprised to hear the characters speaking in English. I quickly realized that Prime defaulted to showing me a version dubbed in English. No thanks. It's unfortunate if this is the default across the application.
jules -- it's also the default on Netflix if you don't change it now. as with motion-smoothing, the tech companies are destroying the film arts. THE EARTH IS DOOMED.