#SetTheVCR: November 11-17, 2024

Monday, November 11

Pedro Páramo (Anytime / Netflix)

Based on Juan Rulfo’s novel, this Mexican magical realism drama is about a man who searches for his father, Pedro Páramo, in a town doomed by violence and the fury of a frustrated love.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: INVESTIGATION ALIEN (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

In this gripping docuseries, legendary reporter George Knapp travels the globe to uncover new evidence about UFOs and investigate their presence on Earth.
~~~

Are UFOs real? Perhaps. We do know not every conspiracy is a lie or internet nonsense. Ain’t that the truth. The Manhattan Alien Abduction streamed on Netflix on October 30th. And before that Netflix offered Unsolved Mysteries: Volume 5 with a UFO greatest hits…a Roswell incident episode. There you can see a story about the 12 year old girl that got threatened by Uncle Sam. Luke 12:3: “Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops.” Seems like that Bible verse is all about UFOs. The docuseries tracks George Knapp’s quest to find hard evidence of extraterrestrial goings-on as he and his team investigate newsworthy UFO sightings, alien encounters, and stories of mysterious nonhuman aircrafts. What would qualify as hard evidence anyways? The whole thing is when something is alien it’s…alien, right?

Tuesday, November 12

Bank Under Siege: Limited Series (Anytime / Netflix)

Spain, 1981: When armed men hold up a bank and take hundreds hostage, a reporter races against the authorities to uncover the true motive for the heist.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE (ANYTIME / DISNEY+)

Marvel Studios presents their most significant mistake to date – Deadpool & Wolverine. A listless Wade Wilson toils away in civilian life. His days as the morally flexible mercenary, Deadpool, behind him. When his home world faces an existential threat, Wade must reluctantly suit up again with an even more reluctantlier… reluctanter? Reluctantest? He must convince a reluctant Wolverine to… oh hell, just watch the movie. Synopses are stupid.
~~~

When is a joke, not a joke? When it’s a fact. Deadpool as Marvel Jesus arrived to wash away the stinky sins of MCU’s Phase 4 (Black Widow, Eternals, Shang-Chi etc.) and ushers in the violent blessings of Phase 5! With Deadpool & Wolverine the MCU put on their Big Boy Pants…and now it’s on Disney+ no less. Progress! Tons of ruckus, tons of cussing: this latest Deadpool movie is Rated R for Right On! They even brought back the Blind Lady (Winnie-the-Pooh, yo! That Deadpool 2 bit is fantastic and remains a top highlight of the entire franchise.). Deadpool & Wolverine brims with unexpected, meaningful cameos including…Peggy who recently won the the title of Britain’s ugliest dog. Not exactly knighthood. Peggy made her acting debut as Dogpool and she did a good job. She earned her treats. (I asked actor Morena Baccarin about working with Peggy on Deadpool & Wolverine. And instantly Morena lit up! You can listen to that interview in My Pal Sammy: Fan Expo 2024 Wrap Up.) Deadpool is right: “Let’s fucking go!!” Programming Note: Following Deadpool there’s only 2 more MCU Phase 5 movies both coming in 2025: Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts.

Wednesday, November 13

Emilia Perez (Anytime / Netflix)

Four remarkable women pursue happiness in Jacques Audiard’s audacious, genre-defying film that unfolds through a fever dream of original songs and dance. Not what you’d expect when a Mexican cartel leader is involved.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: RETURN OF THE KING: THE FALL AND RISE OF ELVIS PRESLEY (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

He had one chance to show the world he was still the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Discover the story behind Elvis Presley’s triumphant ’68 Comeback Special.
~~~

I saw Elvis’ astonishing ‘68 Comeback Special on TV as a kid. (Obviously not in ‘68; the TV special aired on December 3, 1968. I’m not that old.) It was stunning. Raw magnetism. Raw talent. Raw Elvis. All of it was unleashed and came through the TV set. It was like touching an electric current with my bare hands. At the time I didn’t understand the “comeback” part or have the proper context for where Elvis was at in his career. Though, I instantly understood the ‘68 Comeback Special as a sonic manifesto. It remains a powerful artistic statement. Of the many, many gifts Elvis left us is TCB: Taking Care of Business (the lightning bolt in the logo means in a flash). Which is exactly what he did with this one hour of TV. Now. Reinventing Elvis: The ‘68 Comeback streamed on Paramount+ on August 15th, 2023. That documentary was mostly told from the unique perspective of the Special’s director Steve Binder. This Netflix documentary features Conan O’Brien, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Corgan and of course…lots more. Plus this Elvis documentary is directed by Jason Hehir as in The Last Dance director. Admittedly, I’m not a fan of “We Did This Before” and yet I’m making a rare exception for this Elvis double-dipping. Also because of the ‘68 Comeback Special, which to this day is a stunning TV special. Look, the ‘68 Comeback Special is what inspired MTV Unplugged in 1989; a slew of acoustic performances that truly lived up to the TV name of Specials. Nothing in pop culture is past tense…it’s all connected. So, gonna make a tea for this one. Elvis is amazing. Present tense.

Thursday, November 14

Say Nothing: Limited Series (Anytime / Hulu)

Limited Series Premiere: Murder in Northern Ireland during The Troubles; the series opens with the shocking disappearance of Jean McConville, a single mother of ten who was abducted from her home in 1972 and never seen alive again. The 9-episode series is based on the book by Patrick Radden Keefe.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: CROSS: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO)

Alex Cross is a detective and forensic psychologist, uniquely capable of digging into the psyches of killers and their victims, in order to identify—and ultimately capture—the murderers.
~~~

Series Premiere: I might have read some James Patterson like in high school or something but really I’ve no connection to his work. I have seen the Cross movie adaptations. It’s like high school English, skip the book watch the movie. Cross is the third iteration of Alex Cross following 2 Morgan Freeman movies (Kiss the Girls (1997) and Along Came A Spider (2001)) and 1 from Tyler Perry (that I did not and will never watch.). This time Cross is tracking a killer (as usual) and dealing with a threat from his past which appears with ill intent. That’s his Cross to bear for this season. Programming Note: This is a binge release; all 8 episodes drop today. And good news; in advance of its first-season debut, Cross was renewed for a second season. So no stress; watch when you can. Finally, following the methodical ruckus of Reacher (by Lee Child), this Cross series (by James Patterson) Prime Video completes the book trilogy adaptations with Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell. Coming Soon…

Friday, November 15

Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson (8:00 p.m. / Netflix)

Jake Paul battles Mike Tyson as they headline this must-see boxing mega-event streaming live in five languages from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Go Mike Go!
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: TWISTERS (ANYTIME / PEACOCK)

Kate Carter, a retired tornado-chaser and meteorologist, is persuaded to return to Oklahoma to work with a new team and new technologies.
~~~

“I just wanted to make sure that with the movie, we don’t ever feel like it is putting forward any message.” That was the first bit of effective Twisters marketing. Thank You! This is a disposable blockbuster, not An Inconvenient Truth with a CGI budget. Still, it wasn’t enough for me. I did not see this at the movies. Twister (the Helen Hunt “classic”) suffered because it was local danger: Armageddon, 2012, Independence Day etc. all global doom. (Twister also suffered because it sucked, terrible movie.) Like…who cares? The doom needs to be bigger. As such Twisters has foolishly adopted the Batman template: populate the sequel with multiple villains. Everybody chill! Admittedly, I did not realize until much later Twisters is a Girl In A White Tank Top movie. They got Daisy Edgar-Jones running in her white tank top. Classic Hollywood!! Granted, while that’s a noble cinematic contribution I still didn’t feel comfortable watching this at the cinema. So, here we are…don’t get it Twisted. I’ll watch at least 10 or even 15 minutes of this. Programming Note: For Canadians this’ll be on our Prime Video on November 29th.

Saturday, November 16

LEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition (Anytime / Disney+)

Saturday Morning Cartoons: In the new special from Marvel Studios and the LEGO Group, a young, aspiring hero and superhero fan inadvertently unleashes a powerful new villain looking to rid the world of the Avengers.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE DAY OF THE JACKAL (ANYTIME / PEACOCK)

An unrivaled and highly elusive lone assassin, the Jackal, (Eddie Redmayne) makes his living carrying out hits for the highest fee. But following his latest kill, he meets his match in a tenacious British intelligence officer who starts to track down the Jackal in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase across Europe, leaving destruction in its wake.
~~~

Series Premiere: The TV Guide for this 10-part TV series says: “An unrivalled and highly elusive lone assassin, the Jackal, (Eddie Redmayne) makes his living carrying out hits for the highest fee. But following his latest kill, he meets his match in a tenacious British intelligence officer (Lashana Lynch) who starts to track down the Jackal in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase across Europe, leaving destruction in its wake.” Originally The Day of the Jackal is a 1971 is a political thriller novel by English author Frederick Forsyth about a professional assassin who is contracted by the OAS (a French dissident paramilitary organization: Organisation armée secrète (Secret Army Organisation)) to kill Charles de Gaulle, the President of France. (Isn’t Charles de Gaulle their airport now?!) This Day of the Jackal as you can see from the trailer is a current setting. I dunno who the target is. I assume it’ll be a reveal? Programming Note: Canadians can see this on Showcase at 9 p.m. on November 14th, here we get it weekly. Ugh. For Americans who have Peacock the series premieres on November 14, 2024 with the first 5 episodes, followed by episodes weekly and a double-episode finale on Thursday, December 12, 2024. I like that format much better. So annoying.

Sunday, November 17

Dune: Prophecy: Season 1 (9:00 p.m. / HBO Max & Crave)

Series Premiere: From the expansive universe of Dune, created by acclaimed author Frank Herbert, and 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides, Dune: Prophecy follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit. zzzz for me.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: MARTIN SCORSESE PRESENTS: THE SAINTS (ANYTIME / FOX NATION)

An unrivaled and highly elusive lone assassin, the Jackal, (Eddie Redmayne) makes his living carrying out hits for the highest fee.
~~~

Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints as in Joan of Arc, Francis of Assisi, John the Baptist, Thomas Becket, Mary Magdalene, Moses the Black, Sebastian, and Maximillian Kolbe. More than just an executive producer Scorsese is also the narrator of this eight-part docudrama series. He’s been talking and thinking about doing something Saints-related since Raging Bull. So here we go. I know we’re blessed to have Martin Scorsese actively working but I’m impatient for his SCTV documentary on Netflix. It’s time to go from Saints on Fox Nation to comedy gods on Netflix, you know?

–28-

Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.