What to Watch
Hi friends,
Here are our top picks for this week. Of course, I enjoyed all of them, but I want to give a special shoutout to High School, which you can watch for free (check out where below). It’s been a minute since I’ve seen a high school drama that isn’t in-your-face about its quirkiness and snarkiness—nothing wrong with that, but I do miss the slice of life take on teenhood, which High School very much is and more.
As always, I hope you have a great weekend.
OUR TOP TV SHOW OF THE WEEK
Barbarians
Season 2 is new on Netflix 🍅 rating: 86%
There’s a new season of Barbarians out today, and it’s still as bloody and thrilling as ever. Set in 9 A.D., it follows the epic and historical wars between the Germanic tribes and the Roman Empire. At the center of all this is Ari, whose ties to both groups make him a highly conflicted and dangerous man. Season 2 takes place a year after the events of the last episode.
Fair warning: Barbarians has its fair share of gore and nudity, as is the case in shows like this, so if you’re not up to that, you can check our other top picks below.
OUR TOP MOVIE OF THE WEEK
Argentina, 1985
New on Amazon Prime 🍅 rating: 87%
Argentina, 1985 is a legal drama about how a prosecutor and his young team were able to mount evidence—despite all threats and odds—against the officials behind a brutal military dictatorship. The public trial is supposedly the first of its kind in Latin America, a marker of true democracy that made a hero out of Julio Strassera and Moreno Ocampo, who both led the case.
Despite the presence of very serious themes, there are moments of lighthearted humor here that work to stress the film’s underlying message of goodwill and perseverance. Argentina, 1985 competed at major festivals this year, and it’s Argentina’s official entry for the upcoming Academy Awards.
Top picks outside of Netflix and Amazon Prime
Outside Netflix and Amazon, our top pick this week is High School, streaming for free on Freevee. Based on a forthcoming memoir by queer music duo Tegan & Sara, High School follows the twin sisters in ‘90s Canada as they figure out their place in school, in family, and ultimately in each other’s lives. It’s delicate and subdued—a great alternative if Netflix’s brasher teen fare isn’t for you. It’s been likened to Freaks and Geeks and My So-Called—coming-of-age shows I’d recommend in a heartbeat.
Another recommendation outside of Netflix and Amazon is Showtime’s Let the Right One In, available on the network’s streaming platform and on DirecTV Stream. It’s an adaptation of the Swedish horror film of the same name, but while both share the basic premise of a young girl befriending a fellow outcast despite her vampiric urges, the series takes more of an unexpectedly sentimental turn. It also leans more on its police procedural qualities, further differentiating itself from other adaptations.
New titles worth your time
The documentary Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am is new on Netflix. It’s an intimate and artful portrait of one of the most important writers of our time, told through her own voice, as well as her loved ones’. The film was released shortly after her death.
Over at Amazon Prime, the brilliant Shoplifters, about the profoundness of found families, is new on the platform. Gangs of London, the British crime thriller hit, and Modern Love Tokyo, the Japanese adaptation of the NYT-column-turned-TV-anthology, have also just arrived on Amazon Prime.
Great titles that will soon expire
On Netflix, the musical romcom Begin Again leaves October 26, while the genre-bending concert film Metallica: Through the Never leaves October 27.
Meanwhile on Amazon Prime, the National Lampoon documentary Drunk, Stoned, Brilliant, Dead expires October 24.
That’s all for this week. This edition of the newsletter will be back on Friday, October 28.
Till then,
Renee
Thanks as always! One suggestion - make it clearer what show the pictures reference. For example, I assume the picture of the folks jumping at the beach refers to Shoplifters, but it's not always easy to figure out...