Q Wave’s Watchlist: December 2021
"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!
Don’t Look Up (Netflix)
With a backlog of films hitting theatres this holiday season (due to release dates being pushed as a result of the pandemic), you’ll be able to catch this year’s most star-studded movie from the comfort of your own home.
Don’t Look Up, directed by Adam McKay (The Big Short) has an incredible all-star cast. The movie stars, just to name a few, Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Jennifer Lawrence (Dark Phoenix), Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street), Meryl Streep (The Post), Timothee Chalamet (Dune) - and more! Even a few musical artists show up, including the likes of Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi.
So there’s no shortage of talent. What’s it about? DiCaprio and Lawrence play two astronomers who go rogue and launch a media tour in an attempt to warn the planet of their impending doom from an incoming comet that will destroy the planet, and are met with comical indifference at every turn.
A film like this that balances A-List performances, as well as political satire, is in the capable hands of McKay at the helm who has directed similar features like The Big Short and Vice. This movie has a lot of fans excited for what should be a hugely entertaining experience this holiday season.
Don’t Look Up will be available on Netflix, December 24th.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: The Big Short, The Wolf of Wall Street
Runtime: 145 minutes
Genre: Comedy, drama
Being the Ricardos (Amazon Prime)
Being the Ricardos is another star-studded movie available this holiday season that has Oscar buzz written all over it.
Written and directed by Aaron Sorkin (Molly’s Game),he fim is a biopic about the complex professional and personal relationship between Lucille Ball, played by Nicole Kidman (Big Little Lies), and Desi Arnaz, played by Javier Bardem (Dune) as they navigate a critical week of their groundbreaking television program, ‘I Love Lucy’.
The movie has been in the works since 2015, and originally had another Aussie attached to play Ball: Cate Blanchett (Mrs. America). She exited the project at the beginning of 2021 and Kidman was confirmed to be taking over.
This will be the third movie Sorkin has directed after Molly’s Game and The Trial of the Chicago 7 - but he’s made his mark on Hollywood as one of the best living screenwriters penning not only those films, but other highly regarded projects based on true events such as The Social Network, Moneyball, and Steve Jobs. Here’s hoping Being the Ricardos can be added to that list of critical hits.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: Steve Jobs, Mank
Runtime: 125 minutes
Genre: Drama
Station Eleven (Crave)
With everything that’s happened over the last 2 years, this new sci-fi series from HBO is going to be a very interesting litmus test to gauge viewers’ interest in watching a TV series about a fictional pandemic.
Based on the 2014 best-selling Canadian novel of the same name, Station Eleven takes place before and after a fictional flu pandemic devastates the world, killing most of the global population.
As seen in the trailer, the show gives off some seriously eerie vibes that mirror our own experiences with COVID from March 2020. The production had just begun shooting in January of last year before it had to be shut down. Talk about timing.
It’s an interesting case study. Some series, Grey’s Anatomy for example, have leaned into including the pandemic in their storylines while others - like Succession - have ignored it entirely. Although Station Eleven isn’t centered around COVID specifically, it will be notable to see how audiences respond to a show that revolves entirely around a pandemic - albeit a much different one than we’ve experienced.
Station Eleven premieres on Crave on December 16th.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: Contagion, Chernobyl
Runtime: 10 episodes
Genre: Science Fiction
Hawkeye (Disney Plus)
Hot off the heels of What If..?, Shang Chi, and The Eternals - the Marvel machine keeps chugging along, this time with the highly anticipated solo outing of an OG Avenger in Hawkeye.
Jeremy Renner (Wind River) finally gets his turn to headline a Marvel property playing the archer he’s brought to life since his first appearance in the MCU all the way back in 2011’’s Thor. Ten years later and it’s finally his turn to shine.
The series has received great reviews and looks like a whole bunch of fun with its Christmas setting and rollicking action. Renner reprises the role of Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye,picking up two years after the events of Avengers: Endgame. He must partner with his new protegee, Kate Bishop (Hailee Stenfeld ), to confront enemies from his past all while trying to get back to his family in time for Christmas. The pilot episode features Rogers: The Musical, a musical so bad, it’s borderline hilarious.
Critics are hailing the show for being charming and full of heart, which after recent mixed reviews of Marvel’s The Eternals is encouraging to hear. The series will consist of six episodes premiering weekly on Disney Plus, concluding December 22nd. With a little movie called Spider-Man: No Way Home hitting theatres in the middle of its run on December 17th, that should tide all you Marvel fans over until the new year.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: Any Marvel movie
Runtime: 6 episodes, 45-60 minutes each
Genre: Superhero, action
Swan Song (Apple TV+)
Apple TV+ made the move to acquire the rights to Swan Song in February 2020, and now it’s time to see if that calculated investment will pay off as the sci-fi drama is set to hit the streaming service later this month.
Set in the near future, the always amazing Mahershala Ali (Green Book) plays Cameron, a husband and father who is diagnosed with a terminal illness. As he struggles with his illness in secret, he considers the controversial option of preventing his family from experiencing grief over his death by replacing himself with a clone.
The movie explores the central theme of how far would we go to make a happier life for the people we love? Swan Song is the feature directorial debut for Benjamin Cleary, who won an Oscar in 2015 for best live-action short for his short film, Stutterer.
Swan Song debuts on Apple TV+ December 17th.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: Black Mirror, Solos
Runtime: 114 minutes
Genre: Drama, science fiction
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