Noelle, Holiday in the Wild and No Sleep til’ Christmas

My Top Three This Week 

Season's Greetings to all my semi-constant readers. As the year closes out , we have so many presents to be grateful for - a new season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel for starters! Here a few Christmas gifts just for you.

1) Noelle streaming on Disney Plus with Anna Kendrick and Bill Hader as Kringle siblings who are forced to deal with their father Santa's retirement. Hader's Nick disappears to seek a simpler life and not fill his father's boots and Kendrick's Noelle goes on a journey to bring him back. A star studded cast starring Shirley McClaine, Billy EIchner, Michael Gross, Julie Hagerty and many other familiar faces. A sweet life affirming movie with a female empowerment subtext that is just perfect.

2)  Holiday in the Wild a Netflix Original has a built in fan base with Kristin Davis and the ageless Rob Lowe as a jilted wife who decides to take a safari honeymoon on her own where she meets up with an elephant conservationist and decides to stay on to help. Fantastic cinematography and some majestic elephants.

3) No Sleep til ' Christmas is a 2018 movie but somehow I missed it. Streaming on Hulu was a great surprise. The premise is two good looking  people ( David Annable and Odette Annable - married in real life) who cannot seem to sleep unless they are in each other's company which is a pretty new comic devise. The perfect foil to all the Hallmark shmaltz.

Holiday Bonus:  Sugar and Booze the new holiday album from Ana Gasteyer is one of the most original Christmas albums I have heard lately featuring some guests such as Maya Rudolph. This is an instant classic. Femlins at the Castro Theater -A Peaches Christ Production with an all drag cast featuring Phi Phi O'hara, Detox and Miz Cracker and a showing of the holiday favorite Gremlins. And lastly Hey Gurl It's Christmas from Randy Rainbow with an all star lineup  like  Kathy Griffin and  Lorna Luft and original music from Marc Shaiman

The Morning Show, Mrs. Fletcher and Living With Yourself

My Top Three This Week 

Greetings to all my semi-constant readers. It has been a season for thanks and as the Christmas holiday approaches I will have some treats. But first here is what I am thankful for right now even though Thanksgiving has just passed.

1) If Jennifer Aniston doesn't win an Emmy for The Morning Show something is wrong in the universe. As Alex Levy the morning show co- host to the downfallen Mitch Kessler ( Steve Carrell).  Aniston has to to pick up the pieces as Mitch is suddenly embroiled in a #Metoo scandal and the fallout has sent the show spiraling and everyone is trying to find out who leaked the story and who is part of the coverup. Reese Witherspoon is unexpectedly thrown in to co -host after Mitch is gone and she gains a lot of fans and enemies. So many great actors and parts including Billy Crudup who is currently have a big resurgence. Streaming on AppleTV+.

2) Mrs Fletcher on HBO based on the Tom Perrotta best seller is a story of an empty nester whose douchebag son goes off to college and she discovers a penchant for porn and a longing for a life she missed. Kathryn Hahn inhabits  Eve Fletcher in the way she inhabits every role - with beauty and passion. Jackson White as her son Brendan is discovering being a big man on high school campus does not translate in college. His road to enlightenment echoes Eve's as we see them grow into who they need to be.

3) Living With Yourself a Netflix Original is Paul Rudd doubled. An original story of a man who is tired and unhappy in his work and marriage to a beautiful woman decides to go in for a life changing massage. He comes out a new man literally!  Without giving too much away this is a very unusual story line and Paul Rudd does some of his best acting in years as Miles and Miles.Binge this!

The Politician, Unbelievable and On Becoming a God in Central Florida

My Top Three This Week 

Greetings to all my semi-constant readers. I am spending some time weeding through the many offerings out there right now and there are a lot. Narrowing them down took some work but here they are.

1) The Politician - the new Ryan Murphy offering on Netflix is mashup of Election , The Act and Glee with more than a smattering of The Royal Tenenbaums. The amazing Ben Platt stars as Payton Hobart who is establishing a high school presidential campaign that will pave the way for his real aspiration of becoming The POTUS. Gwyneth Paltrow as his loving eccentric adoptive mother Georgina is a playful poke at her real life persona. His crew has some amazing actors  who manage to make him look good. His opponent is the girlfriend of his dead boyfriend. Deception, suicide, Munchausen by proxy, a murder plot and the unstoppable Jessica Lange chewing up lines and spitting them out make this a must see. I would have watched just for Jessica Lange.

2) Unbelievable also on Netflix is sadly based on a true story of a young girl who is raped and forced to recant her story by doubting police.When two detectives ( Toni Collette and Merritt Wever collaborate on similar rape cases they discover a pattern of disturbing crimes that were never solved. After extensive research and heartbreaking stories from the victims they are able to solve the crimes. The wrap around story that finally ties in is the story of Marie Adler who was the original rape victim and the tragic life she has led as a result of her filing the rape in her town. The two leads Collette and Wever are fantastic as always as well as the great character actress Dale Dickey who I love, it was Kaitlyn Dever as Marie who steals the series. Having just seen her in the underrated Booksmart , I personally feel she is going to have a long acting career. She is someone to watch!!!

3)  On Becoming a God in Central Florida on Showtime now is the perfect vehicle for Kirsten Dunst as a long suffering housewife of a Ponzi scheme addict played by Alexander Skarsgård. His get rich scheme of selling household products for Fam have put them in danger of losing everything including their home. When her husband is eaten by an alligator, Krystal Stubbs (Dunst) is forced to deal with the Cult of Fam and his downstream sellers and buyers . Fam is like a cross between Amway and Scientology and the results are terrifying and hilarious.This series is unlike anything I have ever watched and unpredictable as well. We watch Krystal rise on the Fam circuit and focused way she deals with everyone including her unexpected love interest Cody. Mel Rodriguez and Beth Ditto ( lead singer of The Gossip) play her sympathetic neighbors and true friends who get caught in the Fam net. The writing and acting on this series is sublime.

American Horror Story :1984, Evil and Prodigal Son

My Top Three This Week 

Greetings to all my semi-constant readers. Welcome to Fall. Here in Northern California it is very un -Fall like but that isn't stopping me from dreaming of a scary October and the cooler months ahead as well as the Fall line-up.  Reading The Institute by Stephen King  is setting the mood for right now and here is  what else I am excited about this week.

1)  AHS 1984 the new American Horror Story installment is out and I was prepared to not like it all. But after watching the first episode I was hooked. All the horror movie cliches from the 80s are here- the ominous local who warns the teenagers of the dangers lurking at Camp Redwood where they have been hired to be camp counselors, and the creepy characters they encounter on the way to Camp Redwood. All the Halloween and Friday the 13th movie tropes are here. The crazed killer, the horny teenagers, the mysterious circumstances of the new camp owner and her torturous past . The cast is perfect with some Ryan Murphy regulars and some newbies as well. Billie Lourd, Emma Roberts, Leslie Grossman, Cody Fern, Gus Kenworthy and a newcomer to the American Horror Story clan is Matthew Morrison the completely self obsessed and well endowed Trevor Kirchner whose claim to fame was a cut scene from Jane Fonda's workout videos. Sadly Evan Peters will not be reappearing this season. We have two serial killers on hand this time around Mr. Jingles who went on the murder spree at Camp Redwood who has just escaped from the mental institution and The Night Stalker ( first appeared in Hotel and is a real life killer who stalked the streets of Los Angeles) who is stalking Brooke ( Emma Roberts) in LA and has now followed her here. The candy coated wardrobe and bloodbaths have made me nostalgic for another era. #AmericanHorrorStory

2)  Evil, part of the new Fall line up on CBS is showing lots of promise. From Michelle and Robert King ( The Good Wife) this is a great character driven series about what is evil? Supernatural or just plain old bad guys? Starring Katja Herbers as Kristen Bouchard a clinical psychologist who teams up with an unlikely ally David Acosta (Mike Colter ) from the Catholic Church on a possible case of demonic possession. Kristen's skepticism and David's ties with the church make them an interesting watch as they team up to fight what is truly wicked in this modern world. Comparisons to X- Files will be unavoidable and the writing on this show is superb. An added bonus seems to be a recurring character  who might be evil or EVIL played with terrifying glee by Michael Emerson (Lost) and seems intent on creating chaos. Not giving anything away but this might be one of my favorite shows this year. #Evil

3)  Prodigal Son on Fox is also front runner. Tom Payne is Malcom Bright a famous criminal psychologist who happens to be the son of a very infamous  incarcerated serial killer called The Surgeon played by Michael Sheen. When a copycat series of grisly murders occur Malcom reaches out to his father who seems only too happy to assist the son he hasn't seen in 10 years. Sheen is brilliant in a Hannibal Lecter role and Payne shines as the son who remembers the part he played in his dad's capture as a child. Some great casting rounds this well acted thriller including a favorite of mine -Lou Diamond Phillips as a NYPD detective who has become a mentor and friend of Malcom's  and Keiko Agena (Gilmore Girls). This might be a must watch. #Prodigalson

Years and Years, Why Women Kill and The Terror:Infamy

My Top Three This Week 

Greetings to all my semi-constant readers. I have bee taking some time off this summer to travel and see shows and just enjoy the summer. Some of my top picks were Hamiliton (finally) and Patti Lupone one woman show " Don"t Monkey around with Broadway" , Robyn and the amazing Troye Sivan and in Deer Vally Utah the incredible Kristin Chenowith featuring songs off her upcoming album. And to top it all off Shanghai Disneyland. What a summer it was!

1) Years and Years on HBO is one of the most terrifying series on television now. This  limited years is a magnifying glass set on the not too distant future and it is an entirely too real . The story opens in 2019 with an unusual family  (the Lyons) in Manchester England and follow them for around 15 years that flip rapidly on screen. The events that seem to start  with the introduction of Viv Rook ( Emma Thompson ) who becomes a political figure that divides the nation not unlike Trump. The Lyons family struggles with gay marriage, deportation and the fall of financial institutions and a looming war. This feels like the events that we as a nation are running toward as we speak. Technology in this was a believable jump from today's. The cast featuring  Rory Kinnear, Lydia West, Maxim Baldry , Anne Reid and the amazing Russell Tovey will make you weep and laugh. A British series that I cannot praise enough.

2)  Why Women Kill streaming on CBS All Access is a little Desperate Housewives and Dynasty with a twist of Disney in technicolor . The series is a multi generational tale following three story lines  of three unhappy marriages from  the 60s, 80s and 2019. The wardrobes are fabulous, the set design- divine and the three actresses portraying the ladies in question are in every way ready to snap in the best possible way. Lucy Liu, Ginnifer Goodwin and Kirby Howell Baptiste are each the embodiment of their era as they deal with cheating spouses. And the men are perfect foils without being obvious villains. This is a fun watch

3) The Terror - Infamy is the second installment of this acclaimed series on AMC from Ridley Scott and this installment is even more interesting than the last to me. Set in 1940s California prior to Pearl Harbor and and the aftermath in small fishing village - Terminal Island in California where Japanese Americans lived peacefully until the infamous attack in 1941. The horrors that follow are not only because of World War II but a ghostly presence is inhabiting the villagers and on to the internment camps they are moved to. Based on true events with a supernatural twist. Our main character Chester Nakayama (Derek Mio) is in trouble with a college girl and his trouble escalates when his father gets interned following the Pearl Harbor attack. Something else is wrong- a spirit seems to be killing people - an Obake based on Japanese folklore. The cast is superb featuring The George Takai who also helped in an advisory fashion as well. The sense of dread that follows each scene is enhanced by the music and incredible cinematography .