Criticism Is Dead

We discuss Riders of Justice and Pig , two films about men dealing with grief. 04:13 Riders of Justice , streaming on Hulu, picks apart the tropes of the “middle-aged man revenge action thriller” in such an elegant, intelligent, and darkly hilarious way. 23:33 Pig , a hero’s journey of porcine proportions available VOD, sketches out a character portrait of a chef-turned-recluse. 39:35 Plus, cultur...

We discuss Only Murders in the Building _and _The Guilty , a show and a movie about trying to solve a case from the periphery. 03:53 Only Murders in the Building , streaming on Hulu, is neither particularly ambitious nor rigorous, but it's a winning combination of famous actors, whimsy, and New York charm. (Note: Our discussion only covers eps 1–4; also, sorry, the episodes drop on Tuesdays not Mo...

We discuss Reservation Dogs and Rutherford Falls , two recent shows that present very different contemporary Native stories. 04:07 Reservation Dogs , streaming on FX on Hulu, is about a ragtag group of Native teens striving to escape their rural Oklahoma hometown. 28:26 Rutherford Falls , streaming on Peacock, is about a white man and a Native woman whose friendship is tested by a conflict going b...

We discuss The Chair _and _Making the Cut , two shows about making it work within an ultimately capitalist institution. 02:35 The Chair , a new Netflix miniseries, does a good job showcasing — on both a micro and macro level — how an institution like a university cannot easily be changed, but rather changes the individual. (Also: Sandra Oh!!!) 22:38 Making the Cut is Amazon's high-budget answer to...

We discuss Together Together _and _Dead Pigs , two films about what money can or cannot buy. 04:25 Together Together , streaming on Hulu, is a gentle exploration of how an intimate process like pregnancy can sit awkwardly as a transactional affair. 19:19 Dead Pigs , available VOD or on Mubi, puts a wry slant on familiar themes in modern Chinese cinema: urbanization, globalization, and ultimately m...

We discuss The Green Knight and The White Lotus , two quality works about how things go awry far from home. 04:50 The Green Knight , playing in theaters now, is an out-of-this-world adaptation of the chivalric tale that asks one ultimate question: Are you going to step up or pussy out? 27:13 The White Lotus , a miniseries on HBO Max, is an intriguing character/relationship study that is both satir...

We discuss Gossip Girl , the loose sequel to the 2007 series, and The Pursuit of Love , the TV adaptation of the 1945 novel. 05:32 Gossip Girl , streaming on HBO Max, was maybe always going to be a doomed attempt to cash in on nostalgia. 23:56 The Pursuit of Love , streaming on Amazon Video, is a period drama with modern sensibilities. 37:47 Plus, culture notes about the lawsuit that sent shockwav...

We discuss Never Have I Ever , a teen romcom drama about an Indian American girl, and Thoroughbreds , a dark comedy thriller about two white teen girls up to no good. 05:05 Never Have I Ever , streaming on Netflix, is strongest when it goes beyond the silly high school tropes to touch on issues of grief, family, and mental health. 22:48 Thoroughbreds , available on Hulu + Live TV or on VOD, is an...

We discuss Starstruck , a romcom for the modern age, and Enlightened , a short-lived series about trying to do good in a world that's not necessarily made for that. 03:39 Starstruck , streaming on HBO Max, is a perfectly short, simple, and sweet take on a romcom. 19:45 Enlightened , also on HBO Max, holds up remarkably well as an exploration of the human condition, empathy, and whether people can...

We discuss Zola and No Sudden Move , two films about getting sucked into very criminal goings-on. 03:08 Zola , now out in theaters(!), has a hard job of hitting the right balance between dark and larger-than-life wild, and it veers a little more toward dark. 23:24 Crime caper No Sudden Move , streaming on HBO Max, is akin to a fast car: you don't know all the parts and how they work together, but...

We're back from a quick break with a nice, long episode! We discuss Physical and Evil , two shows about battling demons (both inner and outer). 03:29 Physical , a polarizing dark comedy on Apple TV+, is an incredibly thorny, often exhausting show, but one that so far is worth the watch. 21:22 Evil , streaming on Netflix (season 1) and Paramount+ (season 2), is a supernatural procedural that questi...

We discuss We Are Lady Parts , about an all-girl Muslim punk rock band, and Bo Burnham: Inside , the comedian's quarantine musical solo endeavor. 02:41 The new UK series We Are Lady Parts , available on Peacock stateside, is a bright, bombastic, witty effort to subvert Muslim stereotypes. 24:13 Bo Burnham's new special Inside , streaming on Netflix, is a visual and sonic feast made all the more im...

It's a long — but good, if we may say so ourselves — one this week! We discuss The Underground Railroad , an alt-history epic about the rotten foundation of this country, and Couples Therapy , a docuseries about excavating the past to address troubles of the present. 02:50 The Underground Railroad , streaming on Amazon Prime Video, is one of the best works of television/cinema in recent memory. 28...

We discuss Girls5eva and Hacks , two comedy series about grasping for new life in an industry that's all about the young and the fresh. 07:04 Girls5eva — _the latest in the Tina Fey/Robert Carlock universe, streaming on Peacock — is the closest to _30 Rock we're going to get (although it doesn't quite go all the way). 22:333 Hacks , airing weekly on HBO Max, is a Jean Smart vehicle about generatio...

We discuss the limited series Mare of Easttown and the film The Mitchells vs. the Machines , two works that are basically as far apart as you can get in color palette, among other things!!! 03:53 On  Mare of Easttown  — streaming weekly on HBO Max — the drama of community entanglements is as compelling as its murder mystery. 23:12  The Mitchells vs. the Machines , new to Netflix, is a family film...

We discuss Shadow and Bone , about a Chosen One coming to terms with her deeply held secret, and The Mosquito Coast , about a patriarch fleeing his. 05:53 Shadow and Bone , out on Netflix, manages to fill a fun fantasy-sized void in the TV landscape, in spite of its lackluster heroine. 24:11 The Mosquito Coast , streaming weekly on Apple TV+, is a high-octane drama that has the potential (hopefull...

We discuss Stowaway , a movie about surviving in space, and The Other Two , a show about surviving a pop star kid brother. 04:13 Stowaway , new to Netflix, is an unusual space film that is also a horror story about mathematics and employer negligence. 23:03 The Other Two , now streaming on HBO Max, is a comedy series about adults figuring out how best to ride a tween pop star's 15 minutes of fame....

We discuss The Circle and Warrior , two very different shows in which perception plays a big role. 02:17 The Circle (U.S.), Netflix's competition reality show about "influencers" and "catfish," is back — and season 2 is even better than the first. 17:04 Warrior , streaming on HBO Max, set primarily in 1870s San Francisco Chinatown, is a timely pick for the present age. 41:19 Plus, NOT culture note...

We discuss Made for Love , the new HBO Max adaptation of Alissa Nutting's novel, about the wife of a tech billionaire who tries to escape their toxic 10-year marriage, only to find that he's everywhere she is. It's dark, cynical, and dystopic — but also zany, absurd, and wry. Truly a work for the end of the world AKA our bleak future!!!! We're joined by a special guest: the very smart and funny Al...

We discuss the new film Shiva Baby and the series Gentefied , both about (in a way!) power, money, and who has those things. 02:25 Shiva Baby , available in some theaters and on demand, is about a college student/sugar baby stuck in a claustrophobic limbo at a shiva. 22:17 Gentefied , streaming on Netflix, is about three cousins and a grandpa trying to balance their dreams and their community in L...

We discuss Superstore , a rare kind of workplace drama, and Abstract 's episode on a legendary costume designer. 04:02 Superstore , streaming on Hulu and Peacock, combines the fantasy of the warm work family with the reality of the minimum wage-earning working class under modern capitalism. 19:30 Abstract , a design docuseries on Netflix, dives deep into the world of Ruth E. Carter, Oscar-winning...

We discuss Ginny & Georgia and Rocks , two works that happen to be about the huge presence of a mother (or lack thereof) in the lives of a teen daughter. 03:47 Ginny & Georgia , a new Netflix series, is less interesting as a high school drama and more compelling as a story about the cycle of abuse and trauma. (That makes it sound more serious than it is, it's actually mostly an entertainin...

We discuss The 40-Year-Old Version and Lingua Franca , two films by multi-hyphenate talents with personal stories to tell. 04:14 The 40-Year-Old Version , streaming on Netflix, is about a Black playwright who was once considered a rising star, but is now struggling to create the art that she wants as she approaches her 40s. 24:26 Lingua Franca , also on Netflix, is about an undocumented trans Fili...

We discuss Call My Agent! , a French love letter to show business, and The Head , an international South Pole murder mystery. 04:20 Call My Agent! , a series on Netflix, captures the allure and the fallacy of the "workplace family" fantasy, as framed through a talent agency in Paris. 20:28 The Head , a limited series on HBO Max, is a whodunit that's as much about how a group of people unravels as...

We discuss I Care a Lot , a polarizing and deeply cynical(?) film, and It's a Sin , a limited series that's as tender as it is devastating. 04:42 I Care a Lot , streaming on Netflix, is ostensibly about a toxic white girlboss, but the extent to which the film is in on the joke is kinda hard to parse. 19:47 It's a Sin , out on HBO Max, is about coming of age in 1980s London, amid the AIDS crisis. 3...