The Romanoffs 1.1 "The Violet Hour"

By Spencer Coile 

I vividly remember watching Mad Men for the first time during my junior year of college, struck by the way Matthew Weiner crafted a series that was cinematic and rich in detail, dialogue, and characters. Since its finale in 2015, I’ve been searching for a series that struck the same chord with me. Enter: The Romanoffs, the new Amazon Prime series from Matthew Weiner. Its premiere was a long time coming, with news, expansive cast announcements, and speculation circulating for years. Would Weiner capture lightning in a bottle again?

As it turns out, The Romanoffs is an anthology series, where each episode presents a new story about people who believe themselves to be descendants of the slaughtered Romanov family. Based off the first two episodes, it’ll be a globe-trotting series, bouncing across countries, and continents...

In its pilot episode, “The Violet Hour,” we are introduced to Greg (Aaron Eckhart), an American living in Paris who also takes care of his snobby elderly aunt, Anushka (Marthe Keller). Anushka takes great pride in her lineage, announcing herself to be a direct heir to the Romanovs. Her lavish Parisian apartment reflects her wealth and status, to the chagrin of Greg’s girlfriend Sophie, (Louise Bourgoin), who is waiting for the fateful day that Greg will inherit it...

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Prime in October: Pushing Daisies, Gods and Monsters, The Cell

Time to play Streaming Roulette. Each month, to survey new streaming titles we freeze frame the films at random places with the scroll bar and whatever comes up first, that's what we share. No cheating.  What does Amazon Prime offer us for free viewing this month? Let's survey...

Wasn't your old dog named Digby?

Pushing Daisies (Seasons 1 and 2)
In case you wanted something actually worth binge-watching. This series is so perfect, from its macabre plots, to its quirky romance, to its colorful design, through its curiously moving musical numbers. I miss it so much. Maybe we should watch the entire series again?

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Prime in September: Bolero, Gutland, Jack Ryan, and There Will Be Blood

Time to play Streaming Roulette. Each month, to survey new streaming titles we freeze frame the films at random places with the scroll bar and whatever comes up first, that's what we share! (in case you missed it we did Netflix earlier)

What does Amazon Prime offer us for free viewing this month? (Hulu will have the bulk of these, too, as their contracts are always very similar). Let's survey...

Just because we fucked three times, now you think you own me?

Gutland (2017)
Did Phantom Thread make you curious about Vicky Krieps? Here she is in a noir from her home country of Luxembourg. The guys she's arguing with in this skinny-dipping scene is Frederick Lau, who gave a fine performance in that continuous shot German movie Victoria a few years ago. 

ding ding ding. It looks like we have a winner

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan Season 1 (2018)
Jeez, how many actors have played Jack Ryan already? Now it's Mr. Emily Blunt's turn in a new Prime series. I guess they're skipping their 'pilot testing with audiences' phase and going straight to series like most of their competitors now.

Chinatown, the 2007 Oscar race, and more after the jump...

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Prime in August: The Elephant Man, How to Talk to Girls at Parties

Time to play Streaming Roulette. Each month, to survey new streaming titles we freeze frame the films at random places with the scroll bar and whatever comes up first, that's what we share!

Eat me alive. Mommy, mommy 🎵

How to Talk to Girls at Parties (2017/18)
We should talk about this movie at some point real soon now that you can all see it. L-O-V-E this entire scene. My favorite in the movie though these screen pulls are random as promised. I want this nominated for Best Original Song though it never shall come to pass...

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Prime/Hulu in July: Breakfast on Mulholland Dr with a Manchurian

Time to play Streaming Roulette. Each month, to survey new streaming titles, we freeze frame the films at random places with the scroll bar and whatever comes up first, that's what we share -- no cheating!  

Which of these films will you be streaming this month for the first time or as a rewatch? Do tell us in the comments. Ready for our game? Okay let's  go...

Everyone thought he was dotty the way he gorged himself on peanut butter. But he wasn't dotty. Just sweet and vague and terribly slow. Poor Fred. 

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) only on Prime
Everyone knows that Audrey Hepburn is wonderful/funny/elegant in this picture... though some think she's miscast. Less often noted but worthy of careful inspection: the smoking hotness of George Peppard as her conflicted gigolo neighbor. [5 Oscar nominations and 2 wins, both for Henry Mancini's music]

[no dialogue]

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