The best things to watch this weekend
Tilda Swinton learned 2 languages for this movie, plus a fun thriller and a new Nic Cage thing
Dear friends,
I miss living in France around this time of year when all the Cannes movies are available nation-wide and people flock to theaters to see the Palme D’Or film. Although the Olympics are filling the gaps this year.
Have a beautiful weekend.
OUR TOP TV SHOW OF THE WEEK
Utopia
New on Amazon Prime. 🍅 rating: 100%
In a very fun thriller format, this show is about three eccentric comic book fans who come across a graphic novel that has information on future world events, like epidemics.
Also looking for this novel are a couple of violent hitmen from an organization called “The Network”. The three youngsters find themselves up against a dark web of conspiracies and violence.
It’s plot-heavy, imaginative, and very enjoyable - everything you’d expect from a good thriller series.
Adam Epstein of Quartz“Utopia is staggeringly gorgeous for such a violent conspiracy thriller series.”
OUR TOP MOVIE OF THE WEEK
I Am Love
New on Amazon Prime 🍅 rating: 100%
Tilda Swinton stars in this gorgeous Italian production by Luca Guadagnino, part of the director’s “Desire Trilogy”, together with Call Me By Your Name and A Bigger Splash.
Swinton learned to speak Italian and some Russian for the movie, where she plays - to absolute perfection - the wife of a Milan textile mogul who starts having an affair with a cook.
It’s an elegant family drama that’s definitely more concerned with aesthetics than substance, but the setting in snowy Northern Italy and lush 35mm film make that very easy to look past.
📰 Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post: “I Am Love is such a lush, deeply textured banquet of sights and sounds that it deserves more than a movie review.”
TOP PICKS OUTSIDE OF NETFLIX AND AMAZON PRIME
Pig
On rental services 🍅 rating: 95%
Nicolas Cage in one of his most praised roles - ever - stars in this drama as loner living in an isolated cabin in Oregon. He goes on a journey to to recover a pig he loves.
TOP PICKS OUTSIDE OF NETFLIX AND AMAZON PRIME
In the Heights
On rental services 🍅 rating: 95%
One of the biggest film events of the year is this musical from the creator of Hamilton about a charming bodega owner and his dreams, love story, and sense of community in Washington Heights, N.Y. Directed by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians).
That’s it for this week, I hope there’s something in there for you.
The next edition of this weekly letter will be in your inbox Friday, August 6th.
Until then,
Bilal