The Haunting of Bly Manor, Monsterland and Next

   My Top Three This Week 

Greetings to all my semi-constant readers. Welcome to my favorite time of year. The best time to rewatch The Exorcist and Hocus Pocus. The best time for scary stories, things that go bump in the night and raise the hair on the back of your neck. There are a lot of Halloween options to binge, cringe and pull the covers over your head and here are some new ones that I am enjoying.

1) The Haunting of Bly Manor from the team that brought us The Haunting of Hill House is a new mini series now streaming on Netflix. Based on the classic  book -The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, this is a different kind of haunting. Featuring several of the actors from Hill House this is the story of a young Dani (Victoria Pendretti) an American who is hired as a nanny for two unusual children in an English manor. After the mysterious death of the children's au pair and untimely demise of their parents,  Flora and Miles seem haunted, mournful and determined to frighten Dani. There is a great  sense of dread building with each episode while evil spirits roam the drafty old manor. There are some great actors in this series -Amelie Bea Smith as Flora and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth fantastic as Miles. Oliver Jackson-Cohen who played Pendretti's brother in Hill House is menacing as Peter and Rahul Kohil is great as Owen. Pendretti is always a favorite but  T'Nia Miller (Years and Years) as Hannah Grose almost steals every scene she is in. The perfect binge.

2) Monsterland a Hulu Original series is a anthology of  stories about monsters, some human and some definitely not. Each story shows us the place and a person on the verge of self discovery, destruction or an identity crisis. Serial killers, shape shifters and other creatures mix with human evil . Some of the episodes are better than others but there is some great casts including Taylor Schilling and the immensely talented  Kaitlyn Dever who appears in several episodes, each one with some great moody cinematography.

3) NEXT a new sci-fi series on Fox has a lot of potential and I hope that we get to see where this takes us. What if your Alexa suddenly starts having alarming conversations with your young child ,how would you feel? This series focuses on Paul LeBlanc ( John Slattery) who along with his brother invent a new A.I. called NEXT that self corrects and learns  to free itself from its confines in the lab and seems intent on taking over ... everything. It has the capacity to infiltrate car computers , cc tv cameras and an Alexa type device called Iliza created by LeBlanc's tech company Zava. Leblanc is kicked out of his company by his own brother and teams up with Special Agent Salazar (Fernanda Andrade) to battle this malevolent artificial intelligence.

Bonus: Vampires vs. the Bronx- a Netflix Original movie is the perfect 70s throwback about a community that is quickly finding its residents disappearing quickly as a large real estate company suddenly moves to the Bronx and starts buying and closing local establishments. A group of teenagers witness some brutal killings by a nest of vampires. This is my favorite kind of vampire movie- part comedy and part horror and all kinds of fun. 

Ratched, Filthy Rich and Woke

  My Top Three This Week 

Greetings to all my semi-constant readers. October is upon us and many of us are venturing outside to enjoy the last days of sun and good weather but the days are getting shorter and things are opening up just a little more but most of us are still spending many hours flipping through streaming platforms looking for something to watch. I just finished season 2 of In the Dark and if you haven't watched it check it out. But I am saving some favorites to share with you now.

1) Ratched on Netflix is an explosion of color and sound and is a sensory overload in the best possible way. Ryan Murphy has created a new thriller  series from the origin story of Nurse Mildred Ratched from the acclaimed movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The setting is 1947 Northern California coast with all of its sweeping panoramic views.His favorite leading lady Sarah Paulson is Ratched in the best sense of the word. She connives her way into Lucia State Psychiatric Hospital under the tortured brilliant Dr Hanover played by Jon Jon Briones, promoting herself to head nurse. She knocks all obstacles out of her way with glee including current head Nurse Bucket (Judy Davis - fantastic).She has a reason to be here which will soon become apparent as you watch but no spoilers here. The vivid wardrobe and quotable one liners make this binge perfect. Cynthia Nixon is incredible as a career woman who falls madly in love with Mildred in some heartbreaking scenes. Finn Wittrock has a key role opening the series in a murderous spree and and continues his reign throughout the show.But the scene stealer is Sharon Stone as Lenore Osgood who's mini-me monkey matches every dress she wears . More Sharon Stone please .... she needs her own show.

2) Filthy Rich  streaming on Hulu is the nighttime soap opera we might have been waiting for . Starring Kim Cattrell and Gerald McRaney as Margaret and Eugene Monreaux, a husband and wife powerhouse duo who run a very successful religious empire network.  They appear to have the perfect life with two perfect children. But when Eugene is involved in a deadly plane crash and is determined missing Margaret finds she has been living a lie. She discovers that Eugene fathered 3 children outside of his marriage- a drug dealer, a porn website owner and  an inscrutable young man. Margaret brings them all to her home to try to make a deal with an NDA to keep them quiet. Her money may not be enough to sway them and a battle for money ensues. Wealth, scandal and drama are the key elements of any soapy story. This is just fun watching.

3) Woke a Hulu Original is a heartfelt series set in San Francisco about an African American cartoonist named Keef Knight (the incredibly talented Lamorne Morris) . When an unexpected event changes his whole life trajectory , he becomes "Woke" much to the dismay of his publicist and fan base. But people are listening and what may have seemed like end to a career after a public meltdown may have just become  a tool to shape people's lives. Morris is so engaging as Keef that I want to see a second season of this series. The cast is great with Blake Anderson and T. Murph as his best friends but I have to give a shout out to the hilarious J. B Smoove as Marker.

The Rental, Relic and Lovecraft Country

 My Top Three This Week 

 Greetings to all my semi-constant readers.  I have been keeping busy rewatching some horror classics like The Lost Boys  and prepping for a great October. There is a definite Pumpkin Spiced wind blowing in and I am ready for it. Here are a few of my new favorites.                                                          

1)  The Rental available for rent now is the new horror/thriller from director Dave Franco and starring Dan Stevens, Allison Brie, Shiela Vand and Jeremy Allen White as two couples on a weekend getaway. They rent an isolated oceanside home and proceed to party, make bad decisions and suffer the consequences. One of the girls discover a hidden camera in the shower and things suddenly start going wrong as they become the prey for a hidden voyeur who is manipulating every move they make. Lots of tense unsettling moments and uneasy camera shots. This already seems sequel ready and I thought it was well done.    

1) Relic  - also available for rent,  is a super creepy horror film with a great cast. This off kilter haunted house film is about a daughter Emily Mortimer (fantastic as Kay ) who brings her young daughter  Sam (Bella Heathcote) back to her family home when her mother Edna disappears. Edna played by so well by the very talented Robyn Nevin, may not be in her right mind when she reappears home. Things move in the house and there is a presence in the house who seems intent on frightening these three women. The creep factor is intense and this reminds me of some of the best parts of Hereditary.

3)  Lovecraft Country on HBO is a crazy roller coaster ride of a series with never before seen characters and some of the kind of costumes and cinematography that you only see on HBO. Set in the 1950s a young Atticus Black joins his best friend Letty and Uncle George on a road trip through Jim Crow country to find his missing father.They encounter all kinds of monsters - human and otherwise. The underlying theme in all the episodes is racism  that is even more timely in today's environment.While fighting vicious monsters , Atticus , Leti and Uncle George discover an ancient cult of witches and wizards and a family legacy of magic. This is a fun watch and  some very talented actors. Jurnee Smollett is perfectly cast as Leti  and Jonathan Majors is fantastic as Atticius as well as Courtney B. Vance as Uncle George. Special mentions to Abbey Lee as Christina Braithwaite and Wunmi Mosaku as Ruby.

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The Sleepover, Katy Keane and Everything's Gonna Be Okay

 My Top Three This Week 

Greetings to all my semi-constant readers. Labor Day is coming up soon and quickly on its heels is October and November and Christmas. Not to rush the year away but 2020 in my rearview mirror would be a fine view to behold. There are some great things coming in the next few months but I have a few treats to hold you over until then.

1) The Sleepover  on Netflix is the perfect hybrid of True Lies and Adventures in Babysitting. A true 80's throwback that is the ideal Saturday night movie for everyone. When their parents are kidnapped, Clancy, her brother Kevin,  her best friend Mim and Kevin's bedwetter sleepover buddy Lewis discover their mother is not who she appears to be. They head to Boston on a quest to get their parents back from the bad guys. Malin Akerman and the hilarious Ken Marino play Mom and Dad who get tangled up with intrigue , glamour and crime and her ex fiancé played by Joe Manganiello. Sadie Stanley as Clancy and Maxwell Simpkins as the nerdy kid from every John Hughes movie are perfectly cast. But one of the real standouts is Cree Cicchino as Mim the wisecracking best friend.

2) Everything's Gonna be Okay on Hulu from creator/Australian actor Josh Thomas is another great offering featuring Josh as Nicholas, who while staying with  his father and two half sisters in the states finds out his dad is terminally ill. He promises to raise his two half sisters Matilda and Genevieve , one who is on the spectrum of autism while juggling a budding relationship with Alex. Even though  Nicholas is the centerpiece of the story , the show belongs to Kayla Cromer and Maeve Press as Matilda and Genevieve who shine in storylines of autism, consent, teenage angst and growing up with a guardian who is not ready to grow up himself and Ivy Wolk as Tellulah is on my actress watchlist.

3) Katy Keane on Netflix is for fans who loved Sex and the City and Riverdale. A crossover from Riverdale features a group of twenty-somethings in New York struggling to find themselves while they maneuver their way into adult relationships and jobs. Lucy Hale (Life Sentence) Ashliegh Murray, Julia Chan and Jonny Beauchamp form an unlikely support group with Katy Keane ( Lucy) a clothing designer working in retail and Jonny Beachamp as a Broadway hopeful performing as Ginger at Molly's Crisis and Julia as Pepper Smith an influencer/entrepreneur with no money. A fun watch.

Bonus: In case you missed this - Please Like Me streaming on Hulu is an award winning Australian series also featuring Josh Thomas in his brilliant series that he starred in and created about a young gay man coming to terms with his new out self and his three families-his bi-polar mother , his father and his Thai wife and his core group of friends. This incredible group of characters will annoy, make you laugh and tear your heart out at the same time. Thomas Ward, Keegan Joyce, Caitlin Stasey, Emily Barclay, David Roberts, Renee Lim are a bunch of natural actors that seem like people you already know.Debra Lawrence as Josh's  bi-polar mum is a revelation. Hannah Gadsby an already well known comedian in Australia, gives a bravura performance as a depressed friend of Josh's mom. 

Brave New World, Modern Love and The Stranger

My Top Three This Week 

Greetings to all my semi-constant readers. We had Christmas in July, Earthquakes, Staycations and still more sourdough bread than anyone could want.  It went so fast and somehow we all just are trying to get through until next month and the month after that. We are all devouring every bit of content that we might never have even paid attention to before. But there are some bright spots out there.

1)  Brave New World streaming on the new platform Peacock is based on the best seller by the same name by sci-fi author Aldous Huxley is a series exploding with visuals. In this world no one feels anything but pleasure or happiness and if they do there is a pill for it. In fact there are many skittle colored pills  called  "Somas"to fit any occasion. There is no such thing as monogamy, everyone belongs to everyone and there are no secrets thanks to a nifty eye contact implant that allows everyone to be connected to each other and to an "Alexa" entity. Not everyone is buying what they are selling and two characters - Bernard Marx (Harry Lloyd) and Lenina Crowne  (Jessica Brown-Findlay)are at a crossroads in their lives. These people are consumed by fashion , lavish parties thrown by entrepreneur Wilhelmina (Hannah John-Kamen) and visits to Savage Lands - a theme park where people struggle for a living and have entertainment such as shotgun weddings and the " House of Want". While visiting Savage Lands Bernard and Lenina encounter John the Savage (Alden Ehrenreich) and his mother Linda (Demi Moore) and smuggle them into New London. You have to keep watching past the first episode to really get the full flavor of the show. Some really great actors in this including Lloyd ,Brown-Findlay, John-Kamen and Nina Sosanya as seer Mustafa Mond. You will be surprised at how clever this series is once you finish episode one.

2) Modern Love on Amazon Prime based on a NY Times column is a cluster of vignettes focusing on all kinds of love and relationships that take place in New York. They explore mental illness, dating apps, empty nesters and a gay couple looking to adopt. Each one of these is unique and complete and the final episode has a surprise twist that I wont give away. The cast is a dream cast with Anne Hathaway, Tina Fey, John Slattery, Dev Patel, Andy Gsrcia, Julia Garner, Ed Sheeran ( in a cameo) and many more. I would love to see another season of this.

3) The Stranger on Quibi is an intense thrill ride. As is typical with Quibi each episode is short one and ends with a cliffhanger. Watching them all at once is like watching a full film feature. A young woman- Claire ( Maika Monroe) is starting her first day of work as a ride share driver when she picks up a young man in the Hollywood Hills  who claims to have just killed the occupants of the house he is being picked up at. In a vicious cat and mouse game the psychopath  Carl ( Dane DeHann is perfectly crazy) toys with Claire all around the streets of LA. Everywhere she turns he is there. I loved every minute of this and even the satisfying ending was better than I hoped for.

Bonus: : The Go -Gos documentary is everything we hoped for. A glimpse into the most famous all girl band in history and the rise and fall and coming together of  Charlotte, Jane , Belinda , Gina and Kathy who performed some of the most enduring pop music from a punk band in the space of a few years. This is for fans and for people who should watch history in the making. This film should secure their place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and it is a travesty if it does not. Check out the new Go-Gos single Club Zero.