Streaming Roulette May: Burning, Mermaids, Hairspray, and more...

As is our practice we've selected several random titles and frozen the films at utterly random moments without cheating (whatever comes up comes up!) for this quick preview. At the bottom of the page, check out full listings for Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and HBO for the first half of May 2019. Please do let us know if you're dying to discuss any of the films.  Okay, let's go...

Was there a well here a long time ago? A well deep enough to fall into?

Burning (2018) on Netflix
So good.  Still bummed it didn't make it to the Oscar nomination in best foreign language fi-- excuse me "best international film"

Please God, don't make me fall in love and want to do disgusting things.

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Ten Little Linkies

morning news items, or recommended stories / essays

• Boy Culture Comic gold Teri Garr interviewed about her MS (which sadly ended her career, she's now confined to a wheelchair) and her famous co-stars (still loves Dustin Hoffman, was not a fan of Gene Wilder)  

• Forbes asks that the internet stop trying to make the most powerful woman in the movie world (that'd be Wonder Woman) into a victim with constant outrages. She's a hit, enjoy her.

Eight additional stories after the jump including a Downton Abbey reunion, Emmy hopefuls, Batman Returns and more...

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On "Mr Robot" and "Humans"

Welcome readers to a new series, currently without a name (help?), in which various members of Team Experience will be discussing a television show or shows each Tuesday. It's our way of expanding our horizons a bit but without drowning the site in TV or limiting us to only one show as has previously been our habit with "Mad Men" or "American Horror Story". To begin, please glance furtively around, turn up your paranoia sensors, and slip into something uncomfortable with us as Lynn and Nathaniel discuss the somewhat menacing pair of "Mr Robot" (USA) and "Humans" (AMC). 

NATHANIEL R: Hi Lynn. If you want to know why I'm pairing these two shows it's because I fear we've reached the tipping point of contemporary film and television's obsession with autism or any one on the spectrum thereof (i.e. everyone in our age of staring at our phones instead of each other). Lately I've been thinking a lot about E.M. Forster's Howards End and its edict "only connect"  It seems so transgressive now, to demand as much. 

This preference for disconnection paired with the still raging epidemic of antiheroes has made the television landscape rather chilly. The danger is that everything starts feeling the same or at least like variations on the same. How radical would a really warm and friendly prestige cable series feel now?  I bring this up mainly because, though, "Mr Robot" is confidently acted/written/directed and does feel like its own show... I couldn't stop thinking of "CSI: Cyber"(my deepest apologies) as its sort of brain-damaged country bumpkin cousin because of the cyber crimes that feel like sci-fi and "Dexter" as its more sociopathic father because of the confessional 'i am deeply crazy but I'll attempt to explain myself' narration. 

Mostly I bring up "only connect" because I find both shows almost painful to watch; everyone needs a hug. Do you want to hug them?  [More...]

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