Q Wave’s Watchlist: January 2021

By: Darren Chu

"There's nothing to watch," is not a phrase that should exist in a world drowning in content. Join us every month to get curated content - from the latest and greatest to revisiting oldies - we'll help you avoid the dreaded “Netflix Block” and find something to watch!

It’s a new year, and it’s time to put 2020 in the rearview mirror! What better way to celebrate the start of a fresh spin around the Sun, than with some good old fashioned entertainment!

The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)

If you were looking for a chess set as a gift this Christmas and couldn’t find one, you have this show to blame. After just four weeks, The Queen’s Gambit became Netflix’s most-watched scripted miniseries - and for good reason.

Centred around chess prodigy, Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy, Peaky Blinders, and The New Mutants), as she grows from orphan child to international chess champion. Along the way, she defeats and befriends many players, which include Townes (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd), Harry Beltik (Harry Melling, all grown up from the Harry Potter films), and Benny Watts (Thomas Brodie-Sangster, of Love Actually and Game of Thrones fame).

Part of what makes the show so compelling is the visual artistry incorporated into every shot and every scene. Costume designers incorporated the lines of a chessboard into Beth’s outfits, and very deliberately chose her all-white outfit to symbolize her position as the “White Queen.” Beth’s makeup was also deliberately chosen to reflect the different stages of her life, which can be seen by her lipstick in particular.

You'd like this if you enjoyed: Mad Men, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Runtime: 7 Episodes
Genre: Drama

Wolfwalkers (Apple TV+)

Set in 1650 Ireland, this animated movie tells the legend of “wolfwalkers,” magical beings who are human when awake, and release a wolf spirit when they sleep. A wolf pack, led by two wolfwalkers, is all that stands between their forest home and a nearby town, led by the evil Lord Commander (Simon McBurney). The wolfwalker pair are daughter, Mebh Óg MacTíre (Eva Whittaker), and mother, Moll MacTíre (Maria Doyle Kennedy, Downton Abbey, Outlander). The cast of characters is rounded out by father-daughter duo, Robyn Goodfellowe (Honor Kneafsey) and Bill Goodfellowe (Sean Bean, Game of Thrones).

This story puts its own spin on the classic werewolf fable, infusing it with heart and laughter as Mebh and Robyn become fast friends. The animation throughout alternates between woodblock and loose expressive line work, giving it a magical and whimsical feel, and contributes heavily to the medieval setting.

You'd like this if you enjoyed: Song of the Sea, Brave, Howl’s Moving Castle
Runtime: 103 Minutes
Genre: Animation, Fantasy

Soul (Disney+)

Pixar’s at it again, this time with Soul (pun intended). We are introduced to middle-school music teacher, Joe Gardner (played by Jamie Foxx), who finally gets another step closer to his dream when he gets a gig playing piano for a jazz band, but then falls down a manhole, and dies. Set in the Great Beyond (and the Great Before), Joe’s soul meets Soul #22 (Tina Fey), a disillusioned new soul who isn’t inspired by the prospect of life on Earth.

You will definitely feel a bit of nostalgia for Pixar’s Inside Out as you watch Soul, both taking place in metaphysical environments, and tackling issues in ways that only Pixar can. You may not get the same feels you did from the first fifteen minutes of Up, but you will definitely feel something as Joe inspires 22 and 22 inspires Joe.

The musical score also features an all-star cast. Trent Reznor (of Nine Inch Nails fame, who won an Emmy for his work on the score for the HBO series Watchmen), Atticus Ross (who won a Grammy for his work on the score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), and Jon Batiste (bandleader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) all collaborated to create the musical aspects of Soul.

You'd like this if you enjoyed: Inside Out, Up, Coco
Runtime: 100 Minutes
Genre: Animation

Alex Rider (Amazon Prime Video)

Based on the Anthony Horowitz novels, Alex Rider revolves around a London nephew-of-a-spy who becomes a teenage agent for the same black ops division of British Intelligence. When titular character, Alex Rider (Otto Farrant), discovers the cover-up surrounding the mysterious death of his uncle, he gets pulled into an international spy case involving a secretive school for wealthy troubled teenagers called Point Blanc.

There is much to enjoy here, from the slick chase scenes (which include a very James Bond-esque chase down the slopes of a mountain) to the perpetually dark and high tech offices of the secretive division. Otto does a fantastic job with his character, Alex, giving him a balance of light-heartedness and gravity as he improvises his way through his new life as a spy.

The plot may be a tiny bit derivative (one of the villains is so obviously a James Bond femme fatale by the way she is dressed), but this is definitely an entertaining first season in a series that will surely continue into the future.

You'd like this if you enjoyed: Kingsman: The Secret Service, James Bond
Runtime: 8 Episodes
Genre: Spy Thriller, Action

His Dark Materials - Season 2 (Crave)

If you’re looking for a little bit of fantasy with a side of steam-punk, look no further than His Dark Materials. In this adaptation of Philip Pullman’s novels, we are introduced to Lyra (Dafne Keen), a girl from another world where everyone is accompanied by animal companions, called daemons, which are physical manifestations of the human soul. Season 2 opens with Lyra having found her father, Lord Asriel (James McAvoy, Professor X from the most recent X-Men movies), and then immediately was thrust into a new world.

The ensemble cast includes Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) as aeronaut Lee Scoresby, Ruth Wilson (Luther) as the villainous Marisa Coulter, and Amir Wilson (The Secret Garden) as Will - a boy from our world who is also being pursued by mysterious forces.

A major highlight of the show are the visuals, which are used to stunning effect. If you remember The Golden Compass (another iteration of this story), you’ll surely remember a giant armoured polar bear. The fearsome giant is far more impressive this time around, as are the myriad of other talking animals who differentiate this show from other fantasy series. Pan, Lyra’s daemon, is undeniably one of the stars of the show.

You'd like this if you enjoyed: Game of Thrones, Carnival Row, The Witcher
Runtime: 7 Episodes
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction

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