#SetTheVCR: June 22-28, 2026

Monday, June 22

Shelter (Anytime / Prime Video-Canada)

Mason is a reclusive man living in a remote setting by the sea. When he chooses to rescue a young girl from drowning in a terrible storm, he unwittingly sets off a chain reaction that soon brings violence his way, forcing him to confront choices from his past. I dig these Jason Statham Team Ruckus movies far more than the dreck Liam Neeson spits out. In America this has been streaming on Starz since May.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE FAST & THE FURIOUS (THE FAST SAGA) (ANYTIME / PEACOCK)

This summer marks the 25th anniversary of the launch of one of the most iconic film franchises in cinema history. On June 22, 2001, Universal Pictures released The Fast and the Furious, a high-octane thriller set amid the street-racing culture of Los Angeles. The film – starring Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto, Paul Walker as Brian O’Conner, Jordana Brewster as Mia and Michelle Rodriguez as Letty – would ignite a cultural phenomenon.
~~~

On June 22, 2001, Universal Pictures released The Fast and the Furious, a high-octane thriller set amid the street-racing culture of Los Angeles. You’d think that would be the entire story. Recently, Cannes hosted a Midnight Screening of the original 2001 movie, The Fast and the Furious on Wednesday, May 13th, at the Grand Lumière Theatre of the Palais des Festivals. Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez and (sadly) Meadow Walker (Paul Walker’s daughter…single tear…) attended The Fast & Furious’ 25th Anniversary screening. And if Cannes is gonna celebrate Fast and the Furious, we should as well because…We Built This. 25 years of living life a quarter mile at a time is wild. When you rewatch the first Fast and Furious movie, you can’t Oracle-see anything that is going to come. There’s no bold foreshadowing like an MCU movie end credits teaser. The first Fast movie is fun…a slightly polished B-Movie, almost a Point Break remake: A cop goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of criminals with an extreme hobby and gets too close to them. (Point Break is endearing offering a flawed charm.) The Fast and the Furious connected with the correct demographic and made enough money to make a second one. And then a third movie…and it’s off to the races for pink slips.

Tuesday, June 23

The Strangers: Chapter 3 (Anytime / Starz)

In the series’ most brutal chapter, Maya collides with the masked killers and finds the only way out of the nightmare…is in. Renny Harlin directed all three Strangers in this specific relaunch trilogy (Chapter 1, Chapter 2 and now Chapter 3). The entire project was treated like one massive, 280-page story broken into three distinct phases: the setup, the chase, and the resolution. So Renny filmed all three chapters consecutively over a few months in Slovakia. Chapter 1 is on Peacock, 2 and 3 are on Starz.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: IT’S DOROTHY! (ANYTIME / PEACOCK)

Directed by Jeffrey McHale, this feature-length documentary visual essay traces the 125-year history and cultural evolution of L. Frank Baum’s famous protagonist. The film explores how her journey has transformed from a simple children’s story into a symbol of hope, heavily centering the perspectives of women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community.
~~~

This documentary trades lazy nostalgia for a delightful cultural examination. It blends rare, poignant archival footage of Judy Garland with sharp, insightful interviews from a massive, multi-generational roster of icons who have played the role across stage and screen plus big fans—including Ashanti, Fairuza Balk, Rufus Wainwright and Diana Ross. Dorothy isn’t just a character; she’s a reflection of how our collective imagination has evolved over 125 years. Which we’ve seen similarly with long-standing popular characters such as Batman and Superman. While Peacock subscribers can stream this Wicked kaleidoscopic exploration anytime, it’s now been released as a digital video-on-demand and on physical DVD. Perfect for the home you return to after tapping your heels three times in ruby red slippers. Director Jeffrey McHale’s previous documentary was You Don’t Nomi (it’s fantastic!) and I suspect you can say the same about Dorothy Gale. It’s over 100 years of following the yellow brick road which is what pop culture does so well.

Wednesday, June 24

Avatar: Fire and Ash (Anytime / Disney+)

In the wake of the devastating war against the RDA and the loss of their eldest son, Jake Sully and Neytiri face a new threat on Pandora: the Ash People, a violent and power-hungry Na’vi tribe led by the ruthless Varang. Jake’s family must fight for their survival and the future of Pandora in a conflict that pushes them to their emotional and physical limits.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: WILD CHERRY: LIMITED SERIES (ANYTIME / PARAMOUNT+)

Wild Cherry follows self-made businesswoman, Lorna, and her best friend, Juliet, who was born into a world of wealth and good fortune. Together, they live in an exclusive enclave with their daughters who are also best friends. Life is perfect in this luxurious haven until their daughters are implicated in a shocking scandal. As toxic secrets ripple through the idyllic town while Lorna and Juliet are forced to take sides, cracks form in the community, shattering its perfect image.
~~~

Cruel Intentions with a Desperate Housewives twist: “Toxicity triumphs as the idyllic facade of Richford Lake begins to crumble.” Welcome to the drama-filled lives of society’s wealthiest. Where the Mean Girl daughters of the rich high school battle like it’s British Succession. Turns out the lives of the rich are not picture-perfect…blah, blah, blah. Honestly, I’m eye-roll weary of these generic “eat the rich” moralizing narratives. Rather, I’m recommending this limited series because it’s British. Wild Cherry originally premiered on the BBC on November 15, 2025. And the British have an entirely different awareness of class—and what gated communities means—compared to Americans. And noting those transatlantic cultural differences is worth a watch. It’s travelling without moving.

Thursday, June 25

The Bear: The Final Season (Anytime / Hulu & Disney+ Canada)

The fifth and final season of FX’s The Bear picks up the morning after Sydney, Richie and Sugar discover that Carmy has quit the food industry, leaving the restaurant to them. With no money, the threat of a sale and a storm in their way, the team must band together to achieve one last service. Ultimately, they learn that what makes a restaurant “perfect” might not be the food, but the people.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: HOW TO MAKE A KILLING (ANYTIME / HBO MAX & PARAMOUNT+ CANADA)

Disowned at birth by his obscenely wealthy family, blue-collar Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell) will stop at nothing to reclaim his inheritance, no matter how many relatives stand in his way.
~~~

Glen Powell goes full American Psycho, meticulously murdering his way through seven rich relatives to steal back a $28 billion inheritance. Fun twist. We tend to carelessly saint the poor and working class in our (ironically) cheap cultural war against billionaires. So, it’s absolutely delectable to recognize that the working class can be just as ruthlessly greedy as the billionaires they are desperate to replace. The ‘80s inspired us with Greed Is Good. And now, decades later, thanks to hustle culture we’re all aggressive on How To Make A Killing.

Friday, June 26

Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness (Anytime / HBO Max & Crave)

The logline for the series is simply, “Those who don’t know history…are doomed to watch Larry David repeat it.” It’s Larry David: you’re either in or you’re out.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: UNDERTONE (ANYTIME / HBO MAX & HOOPLA)

Follows a paranormal podcast host who returns home to care for her dying mother. Thereafter, she begins receiving recordings from a married couple plagued by strange noises in their house, pulling her into a spiral of fear and paranoia.
~~~

The dark eclipse of grief, a potentially haunted house, and unsettling sonic dread are the underbelly of Undertone. Evy hosts a paranormal podcast with her friend Justin; she’s the Scully skeptic to his Mulder believer. Or rather, she was. Their podcast is sent eerie recordings (is there any other kind?!) of a married couple experiencing paranormal noises in their home. (The sound design in Undertone is top notch. We tend to talk about the visuals of horror movies. But the best horror movies sound amazing.) The strain of acting as a caregiver to her comatose mother, her isolation (well, does a demonic presence count?) combined with the deeply unsettling audio files, soon dilutes Evy’s default skepticism setting. She quickly slides into a nightmarish supernatural spiral and this is where the visuals of the movie truly begin. Undertone starts off in your mind…what do you see when you hear a certain noise? Then it progresses visually. And I urge you to slowly consume the entire frame. Writer and director Ian Tuason subtly fills it up. Because that’s the valid issue with paranoia. Sometimes…the paranoid are right. Programming Note: Canadians can stream this (for free!) on Hoopla. However it’ll also stream on Paramount+ Canada on June 30th.

Saturday, June 27

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 2 (Anytime / Crave)

The Turtle brothers return in this season to battle against foes old and new, redeem the warrior alchemist, and fight the Foot Clan once more, while facing off against their greatest threat yet: The Shredder.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: DRIVER’S ED (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO-CANADA)

A group of teens steal their school’s driver’s ed car, to go on a road trip to help a high school senior track down his college-freshman girlfriend and win her back.
~~~

If current teen movies drive you crazy with their entitled drama or horny hockey sexual shenanigans, then cruise on over to Bobby Farrelly’s Driver’s Ed. It’s a funtastic throwback to when teen movies playfully offered heart, chaos, unrequited romance and a stoner who was simultaneously startlingly dumb and strangely wise. Take a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off to chill with these Outsiders.

Sunday, June 28

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (Anytime / Hulu)

A man from the future arrives at a diner in Los Angeles where he must recruit the precise combination of disgruntled patrons to join him on a one-night-six-block quest to save the world from the terminal threat of a rogue artificial intelligence.
~~

SAMMY SUGGESTION: LITTLE BROTHER (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

Rudd (John Cena) has the perfect life – great job, loving family, and a thriving career as a real estate agent… until his little brother, Marcus (Eric Andre), crashes back into his world as a full-blown agent of chaos, stress-testing every part of Rudd’s carefully controlled existence.
~~~

John Cena plays a tightly wound, ultra-successful real estate agent whose perfect life gets Wile E. Coyote TNT blown up. He earns a chaotic makeover when a boundary-free high school “little brother” mentor-match (Eric André) crashes back into his curated world. John Cena is now forced to wrestle with this annoying experience while adulting—what we all call fun. This is real life which is messy. There are Blockers online but not in real life. Sigh. Where’s a Peacemaker when you need one, right?

-28-

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