By Dave B.

I had never heard of Derren Brown before a few days ago, but apparently he’s a world-famous mentalist and illusionist. Seeing as how neither of those activities particularly appeals to me, it’s not surprising that I had never heard of Brown. But as will sometimes happen, a preview on Netflix caught my attention. That preview was for the Netflix Original program Derren Brown: Sacrifice. The premise of the 49 minute special is that Brown will make an “ordinary person” (in this specific case, Phil, a white American male from Florida who’s a bigot) willingly take a bullet for not a complete stranger, but one who is an undocumented immigrant, a group of people that Phil is particularly biased against . I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to see what this was all about and I’m (mostly) glad that I did.

By Dave B.

​The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell (Netflix) is…unique. Basically, it’s a horror-themed cooking show with a plot. And Henson puppets. In each of the six episodes, McConnell creates unbelievable culinary concoctions and occasionally dabbles in other domestic pursuits such as dressmaking. Joined by a supporting cast of her murderous friends and housemates Rose (a zombie raccoon), Rankle (a mummy cat), and Edgar (a werewolf), McConnell navigates her chaotic and macabre world with kindness, poise, and humor.

By Dave B.

"Premieres" will feature official trailers and synopses from what I feel looks like the most interesting (or the only, in some cases) original programming coming out in the subsequent week on Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and elsewhere. In no way to these previews represent recommendations or reviews. My intent is to post this segment each Thursday or Friday, but we'll see. Enjoy!

By Dave B.

"Premieres" will feature official trailers and synopses from what I feel looks like the most interesting (or the only, in some cases) original programming coming out in the subsequent week on Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and elsewhere. In no way to these previews represent recommendations or reviews. My intent is to post this segment each Thursday or Friday, but we'll see. Enjoy!

By Dave B.

In Disney’s adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time (2018, currently on Netflix) Meg, a middle school student, and her younger brother, Charles Wallace, are outcasts at their schools: Charles Wallace, because he’s a child prodigy and Meg because of the trauma she’s trying to deal with due to the disappearance of her father years earlier. The siblings, joined by Meg’s friend Calvin, encounter powerful beings and together they embark on a journey across the cosmos to find and return their lost parent. 

By Dave B.

​Into the Dark (Hulu) is a horror anthology series created by Blumhouse Productions. Each episode has a runtime of approximately 80 minutes or so and they are released monthly. The first episode is The Body. In it Wilkes (Tom Bateman) is a hitman who has four hours to transport a body across town on Halloween night. After finding his vehicle vandalized and its tires slashed, he encounters revelers who mistake his suit and the body he is dragging as an elaborate Halloween costume. After agreeing to go to a party with them for one drink so that they can impress their friends, a series of unfortunate events send the hitman and his newfound admirer, Maggie (Rebecca Rittenhouse) on a race across the city to recover the body before the deadline.

By Dave B.

​RBG (2018, currently on Hulu) is a documentary about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It reveals interesting details of her life from her childhood, to her time as a law student at Harvard and Columbia, through her current tenure on the U.S. Supreme Court. 

By Dave B.

In Daredevil: Season 3 (Netflix, Marvel), a gravely injured Matt Murdock recovers from injuries sustained at the end of Defenders (viewing previous Marvel/Netflix shows is not required to understand the events in this season of Daredevil, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt). He’s lost hearing in one ear, as well as his senses of smell and taste. As he recovers in the basement of a church, he finds himself estranged from God, his friends, and even himself: he wants to discard his existence as Matt Murdock and exist solely as his alter ego, Daredevil, a vigilante who’s only rule is that he will not kill. That rule is put to the test when Daredevil must confront his archnemesis Wilson Fisk and deal with the rise of a new threat…one who never misses a shot.

By Dave B.

The Rezort  (2015, currently on Netflix) takes place 10 years after the outbreak of a zombie virus and the ensuing war against the undead killed over two billion people. Zombies no longer exist anywhere in the world except on one small Pacific island where a company has set up a luxury resort with a $1,000,000,000 security system. At this resort, people from all over the world can rest, relax, and kill as many zombies as they want to. Predictably, through a combination of malice, ineptitude, and naivety the security system is damaged and all hell breaks loose.

By Dave B.

"Premieres" will feature official trailers and synopses from what I feel looks like the most interesting (or the only, in some cases) original programming coming out in the subsequent week on Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and elsewhere. In no way to these previews represent recommendations or reviews. My intent is to post this segment each Thursday or Friday, but we'll see. Enjoy!