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8 best TV shows, movies, and podcasts to stream in Houston this weekend
Coronavirus fears have most of the general, American public stuck at home, and people are doing everything they can to forget that the entire world is in pandemic mode.
Whether it's playing video games or reading books or exercising or maybe, just maybe, communicating with your family, there are plenty of options to stay entertained. But, for those who love to stream their entertainment, here is a rundown of TV shows, movies, and podcasts for almost any taste.
Movies
Bacurau (Kino Lorber)
If you’re in the mood for something a little crazy, how about this futuristic sci-fi/Westerm whatzit from Brazil (which screened last year at the Houston Cinema Arts Festival and was supposed to be a selection in the MFAH’s Latin Wave program this year). This movie has a bunch of Brazilian villagers (including Sonia Braga as a foul-mouthed doctor) coming together when a gang of psychotic, trigger-happy mercenaries (led by Udo Kier, of course) show up to wipe them off the face of the Earth.
Emma. (Focus Features)
While Universal decided to bring their recent studio flicks to on-demand sites, we shouldn't forget that Universal's art-house wing Focus Features dropped this nifty nugget not too long ago. The latest, colorful retelling of Jane Austen's farcical romance has Anya Taylor-Joy (who stars in the up coming X-Men spinoff The New Mutants, which will come out one of these days) as the title character, a stubborn matchmaker who's too all up in everybody's business to realize she should be taking care of her own.
First Love (Well Go USA)
This is one of the most entertaining imports that came out last year. This film, which comes to us courtesy of Japanese provocateur Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi the Killer), has a young, possibly brain-tumored boxer and a young call girl caught up in a whirlwind of bullets and double-crosses that has them doing everything they can to come out of it alive. It was a favorite from last year's Fantastic Fest — so, you might as well look for it on YouTube or Amazon Prime.
Podcasts
The Last Degree of Kevin Bacon (Spotify)
Spotify, along with Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's Funny or Die comedy-clip site, presents this podcast for all those who think Kevin Bacon needs to be taken down a peg. This one has a failed actor who vows to eliminate the one thing that ties all his problems together, which also happens to be the acclaimed actor and cultural institution. It's a wacky experience, made even wackier when The Closer (played by Bacon's real-life wife Kyra Sedgwick) always shows up, ready to take him down.
Why Was This Ever Cool (Self-distributed)
As far as locally based podcasts go, this one is not only hilarious. It's also the one we most often revisit. Longtime friends Cody and Shayla take a trip back to their younger days (circa the '90s) and review movies that they once thought was awesome. You should listen to the way they — in a rather catty manner — take apart a lot of Clinton-era favorites. This podcast is essential for those who often wondered what made them actually thought that She's All That was a good movie.
TV
Little Fires Everywhere (Hulu)
After HBO's Big Little Lies and Apple TV+'s The Morning Show, Reese Witherspoon continues her reign as the Queen of Prestige TV with this Hulu miniseries. Based on the 2017 novel by Celeste Ng, this one has Witherspoon and Kerry Washington as a pair of suburban moms who lives get intertwined and inevitably become embroiled in a maelstrom of race and class. We wouldn't be surprised if this ends up winning all the Emmys come September -- that is, if there is an Emmys come September.
Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker (Netflix)
Sure, Black History Month was last month, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t learn more about trailblazing African-Americans from the last century. The four-part miniseries is here to hip you about Madam C.J. Walker (Octavia Spencer), the first black lady to become a millionaire selling hair-care products. Tiffany Haddish, Blair Underwood, and Carmen Ejogo co-star.
Westworld (HBO Go, HBO NOW)
It's the third season of the futuristic, robot-crazy show — and, this time, they're off the reservation and going buckwild. This new season has Evan Rachel Wood's android heroine leaving Westworld and mingling in the real world, coming into contact with various other figures. Aaron Paul, Vincent Cassel, Lena Waithe, and Scott Mescudi (aka Kid Cudi) will be some of the familiar faces who'll be playing these figures. So expect some mayhem to go down every Sunday night for the next few weeks.
