TV Talk

Must-watch holiday TV and movies: Shows to get you through the endless reruns & bad family reunions

When the weather outside is frightful, it’s time to power up the TV. Christmas break is upon us, and free time is about to increase exponentially. So what’s the key to getting through the abundance of family time?

A fully stocked queue of Hulu and Netflix (and a couple of well-timed trips to the multiplex, of course).

But in case you’re not quite sure what to dial up, we’ve got some suggestions to keep you entertained this holiday season.

Netflix

Drinking Buddies

Watch it with: Your beer-loving brother-in-law

Olivia Wilde stars with New Girl’s Jake Johnson in this tale of a pair of microbrewery employees who mix work and play more often than not. Consider the flick improved with a nice seasonal ale.

Frances Ha

Watch it with: Your high school BFF

The always spot-on Greta Gerwig is Frances, a sometimes out of work modern dancer, who’s both seriously un-dateable and entirely relatable. She’ll make you feel like your life isn’t such a mess after all.

The Iron Lady

Watch it with: Your grandmother

She’ll eat this biopic of Margaret Thatcher right up.

Blackfish

Watch it with: The non-squeamish

This documentary of Orca whale Tilikum examines the deaths of several trainers while he was in captivity, questioning the safety and humaneness of the Orca (also know as killer whale) community. Don’t expect Free Willy fare.

30 for 30

Watch it with: Your dad

Pops will surely appreciate this docu-series which highlights sports, sex, drug use and warfare. Choose an episode at random. Pretty much every story is sure to please his nonfiction-appreciating heart.

Firefly

Watch it with: Your tween nieces and nephews

Before Joss Whedon was the guy behind The Avengers, he was a sci-fi television master. This short-lived series (featuring Whedon fave Nathan Fillian) makes for easy watch that should take you and your pop culture-loving tweens no time at all to get though.

Lilyhammer

Watch it with: Your Sopranos-loving uncle

Sopranos favorite Steven Van Zandt stars as Frank “The Fixer” Tagliano, in this tale of a mafia boss who leaves the Big Apple for the Fjords of Norway after being put into witness protection. Season Two was just released, so you have more than enough of this Netflix Original to keep you busy.

HBO GO

Stoker

Watch it with: Your siblings

Mia Wasikowska is a young girl changed by the death of her father and prompt arrival of her mysterious new Uncle Charlie who moves in with the family. The trio soon go down a dark, twisted path in this 2013 psychological drama.

Girls

Watch it with: your cousins

Season 3 of this critically-acclaimed dramedy returns January 12, so catch up on last season’s action while you can.

Broken City

Watch it with: The whole family

Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe star in this revenge tale of ex-cop Billy Taggart, seeking redemption after being double-crossed and framed by New York City Mayor Nicholas Hostetler.

Hulu Plus

Misfits

Watch it with: Tweens, teens and sisters-in-law

Five unruly teenagers forced to do community service face a whole new slew of problems after an electrical storm hits their town and turns them into superheroes. Each possesses a new power they didn’t want, one that explores their deepest, darkest insecurities.

Moone Boy

Watch it with: Yourself

Set in 1980s Ireland, this truly hilarious comedy follows 12-year-old Martin Moone as he navigates the intricacies of his eccentric childhood with the help of his bearded — and very sarcastic — imaginary friend Sean (played by Bridesmaids’ Chris O’Dowd).

In Theaters

Saving Mr. Banks

See it with: Your mom, aunt and grandmother

Tom Hanks stars in this tale inspired by the untold story of how Disney’s Mary Poppins made it to the screen. Emma Thompson stars as P.L. Travers, the curmudgeonly writer not eager to see her story bastardized.

American Hustle

Go see it with: The whole family

Director David O. Russell scores again with this fictional story of notorious con man Irving Rosenfeld (a barely recognizable Christian Bale) and his partner, portrayed by Amy Adams. The duo is forced to change things up after being discovered by the FBI, but the antics don’t die down a bit.

Her

Go see it with: Your significant other

Joaquin Phoenix stars as a withdrawn writer who falls in love with his computer’s highly advanced operating system in this comedy from director Spike Jonze.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

Go see it with: Anyone looking for a laugh

Ron Burgundy and his band of bros are back, and they’re taking the 24-hour news world by storm. Expect tons of cameos, a fair amount of scotch and a lot of antics that make it difficult to stay classy.

There you have it, folks. With this arsenal of appropriate programming, you’ll have more than enough to do.

Tune in (and tune your family drama out) by watching Moone Boy.

Courtesy photo

Tune in (and tune your family drama out) by watching Moone Boy.

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Movie Review

The Mandalorian and Grogu lacks the cinematic magic of a true Star Wars movie

Photo courtesy of Lucasfilm

The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu in The Mandalorian and Grogu.

At one point in the 2010s, Disney planned to release a different Star Wars movie every year, with an “Episode” film (like The Rise of Skywalker) alternating with anthology movies like Rogue One. But when 2018’s Solo underperformed, those plans changed, and the pandemic made any Star Wars movie less appealing, with Lucasfilm shifting heavily toward TV shows like The Mandalorian.

The popularity of that show in particular has led to the return of Star Wars to the theaters in the form of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu. The film follows the bounty hunter (Pedro Pascal) and his Force-sensitive adopted child as they travel around the universe, hunting down the remaining members of the Galactic Empire (the film, like the series, is set in the years following The Return of the Jedi).

The main thrust of the film has the duo, at the behest of Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver) of the New Republic, trying to track down Rotta the Hutt (voiced by Jeremy Allen White), the son of the late Jabba the Hutt, who’s supposedly been kidnapped. The discovery of the ultra-buff Rotta sets them down a different path than they thought, one that puts Mando and Grogu in the crosshairs of Rotta’s twin cousins.

Directed by Jon Favreau and written by Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Noah Kloor, the film is perfectly fine if you consider it to be an extended Mandalorian episode, but at no point does it rise to the level of a great movie experience.

The film, like the show, is defined by the Mandalorian’s unflappable nature and strict code, as well as Grogu’s mischievousness and unquenchable appetite. Right from the start, the Mandalorian has a “take no prisoners” approach, laying waste to all comers in a PG-13 sort of way. Grogu is mostly along for the ride, occasionally breaking out the Force to help out, but mostly serving as the comic sidekick. Their relationship keeps the film watchable, but only just barely.

The biggest issue, one which was starting to affect the Disney+ show as well, is that the story never seems to go anywhere despite the fact that its two main characters are constantly on the move. No matter how big or ferocious the opponent they face, the overall stakes are so low as to almost be nonexistent. If Favreau and Filoni (who has a small part in the film) are trying to build toward some larger story, it doesn’t come through on screen.

The film’s action fits in well with sequences that have been put forth in previous Star Wars films, but to call them “cinematic” would be stretching things. There are all manner of monstrous creatures that the duo comes across in their adventures, but only a few of them are memorable. The most interesting sequence features a snake/dragon hybrid that Mando fights in a watery pit that is reminiscent of the trash compactor scene in the original Star Wars. Much of the rest of the film blends together in a mish-mash of uninteresting opponents.

For a live action film, there are precious few actors who actually show their faces. The Mandalorian removes his helmet exactly once, making it clear that Pascal is merely providing the voice for the character. White affects a tough voice for Rotta that may be canon, but frankly sounds ridiculous coming from the character’s body and in no way resembles White’s actual voice, which negates his casting altogether. Weaver is close to a non-factor in her small role, but Martin Scorsese is kind of fun voicing a four-armed fry cook/informant.

The cachet of Star Wars and the fun of The Mandalorian series may be enough for many to enjoy the inoffensive lark that is The Mandalorian and Grogu. But the film does not come close to reaching the heights of the best Star Wars movies, and does nothing to indicate what to expect from the valuable intellectual property going forward.

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Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu opens in theaters on May 22.

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