This Week in Streaming (January 14th)
Our recommendations to counteract the endless scrolling.
Dune: Part 2 (Max) Though released last March, the follow-up to one of Hollywood’s all-time great blockbusters continues to remain an Oscar frontrunner as evidenced by the Music City Film Critics’ Association naming it Best Picture last week. It’ll probably behoove those who have yet to see it to make the trek to the multiplex upon its inevitable awards season rerelease in the coming weeks. But, in the meantime, HBO is here for all your spice needs.
After Midnight (Paramount+/CBS) It may have earned its rep as the go-to network for the old folks, but CBS was far ahead of its competitors by replacing yet another smarmy politico late-night hack with this largely un-self-righteous faux game show in the 11:30 p.m. slot. Comedienne du jour Taylor Tomlinson hosts a revolving panel of comics and actors who opine on pop culture through increasingly elaborate joke prompts that necessitate well-honed improv skills. Funnier than anything on Gutfeld or Fallon.
Starring Nicole Kidman (Criterion) The Belcourt got on the Kidman bandwagon last summer with its career retrospective of Nashville’s most famous resident. Those who missed it have the opportunity to see a wide swath of Kidman’s best performances from her breakout 80s thriller Dead Calm to her work with cinema legends like Stanley Kubrick (Eyes Wide Shut), Gus Van Sant (To Die For), and Jane Campion (The Portrait of a Lady). Our pick: Kidman’s turn as a self-loathing literary fiction writer at the center of Noah Baumbach’s Margot at the Wedding, a criminally neglected family drama co-starring Jack Black and Jennifer Jason Leigh.