On this very busy day, we start by pointing you to Andrew Mack's excellent review of Push, the 'pregnant realtor trapped in a house with a stalking killer' thriller that's now streaming on Shudder.
Next, please see the review of Drop, which our own J Hurtado saw at SXSW, and is now streaming on Peacock TV, as well as Opus, reviewed by Mel Valentin out of Sundance, which is now streaming on HBO Max.
And yesterday, I wrote about the season 2 finale of one of my new favorite shows, Poker Face, now streaming on Peacock TV.
Next, let's go to the graveyard with a Canadian horror master.
The Shrouds
The film is now streaming on the Criterion Channel.
Talk about an awkward first date! David Cronenberg's latest exercise in terror is, in reality, more a personal meditation on grieving; how do we deal with the loss of a loved one?
Vincent Cassel stars as an "enigmatic entrepreneur behind a new tech package that allows bereaved relatives to view their loved ones' decomposing remains." Diane Kruger and Guy Pearce also star.
Our own Martin Tsai saw the film last year at the Cannes Film Festival. In his insightful review, he concluded: "Yes, this review has asked many questions, but The Shrouds offers no answers. Cronenberg gets too sidetracked by the conspiratorial stuff to get deeply philosophical about mortality and nonconsensual digital afterlife. It also isn't the raging, casting-blame-all-around kind of conspiracy that would make more sense in this context. Is this guilt? Is it meant to be a confessional? If we have to ask, then is it any good?"
More recently, contributing writer Dave Canfield sat down with Cronenberg and discussed his latest film, first placing it into the context of his past work. Asked about his latest, Cronenberg said: "When someone you've been with for almost 40 years is suddenly gone, you don't stop wanting to be with them. The Shrouds is definitely about that sort of working through grief. But I wouldn't call filmmaking catharsis, really. At least not for me."
David Cronenberg Visits the Criterion Closet
The director recently paid a visit to the world-famous Criterion Closet in person. His selections are quite interesting, to say the least.
Ballard S1
All 10 episodes are now streaming on Prime Video. I've seen all 10.
Sharing DNA with Bosch and its successor, Bosch: Legacy, Maggie Q stars as the titular police detective, assigned to the Cold Case Unit in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) after she was busted down because she dared to bring charges against a superior who endeavored to assault her.
Developed by Michael Alaimo and Kendall Sherwood, the series is based on mystery novelist Michael Connelly's series of books featuring Rene Ballard, first published in 2017, which take place contemporaneously with Connelly's book series following LAPD detective Harry Bosch. The character was introduced earlier this year in Season 3 of Bosch: Legacy as an aggressive counterpart to Bosch.
In Ballard, Rene Ballard works out of a basement as the only sworn officer in the unit, supported by three members of the LAPD Reserve Corps -- John Carroll Lynch, Courtney Taylor, Michael Mosley -- volunteers who have received police academy training and can be armed, along with a young civilian (Rebecca Field) and a college intern (Victoria Moroles). Like Bosch, especially, it's a series cut in the mold of classic police procedurals that have been so popular on broadcast and cable channels.
Thus, it's a very 'meat and potatoes' or 'comfort food' show that feels quite familiar in its form and in its structure, starting with a single case that then expands to multiple other cases as the episodes proceed, compiled into a giant series of threaded mysteries. What makes it different from Bosch is that, rather than simply plugging a woman into the previous show's mucho-macho lead role, the show establishes early on that Ballard knows she needs and values the assistance of the volunteer helpers, striking a 'lone wolf' approach only because she has no choice: no other paid officers are assigned to the unit.
The show also benefits greatly from the presence of Maggie Q as the calm, steady, and intelligent sun around which everything else revolves. Bosch had a dog, a daughter, a love of jazz, and a stunning home in the Hollywood Hills with a stunning view of the Los Angeles basin; Ballard has a dog, a grandmother (Amy Hill), a love of surfing, and a modest home that that she shares with her grandmother, which just happens to be stunningly close to the Pacific Ocean.
It's an enjoyable show to watch, though it doesn't rise to the level of a gripping thriller. But that's not what it's trying to be. Instead, it presents questions that need to be answered; solutions that, frustratingly, keep getting pushed further down the road by official incompetence; and mysteries that demand to be solved, resolving (for the most part) by the conclusion of the season.
In that, Ballard is a satisfying old-fashioned series, putting its priority on well-made entertainment that doesn't insult the intelligence of viewers.
Foundation S3
The first episode of Season 3 is now streaming on Apple TV+. Subsequent episodes debut every Friday. I've seen the first nine of ten episodes.
I've seen and enjoyed all 20 episodes in the first two seasons, but Season 3 has confounded me so far.
Maybe it's just me, but this season feels more ambitious, yet more frustrating to follow. Created by David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman, though Friedman departed early on, the series is based on several novels by Isaac Asimov. The first season quickly established its own identity, which initially disoriented me as a reader of the novels, and then gained momentum as it drove forward (and I grew more comfortable with the show's adjusted narrative and updated (to modern sensibility) characters.
The second season followed a similar pattern, providing splendid eye candy that kept me consistently distracted, before the narrative tightened up as the episodes moved forward.
With each season arriving at two-year intervals, it's challenging to keep up with a sprawling cast, some of whom have been able to extend their lifetime into the hundreds of years by a weird combination of mumbo and jumbo. The actors invest their characters with all the appropriate emotions, but as circumstances separate them further, and loyalties become divided or fall under suspicion, it becomes tougher to keep up with who's who and why.
I thought binging multiple episodes that were made available in advance would bring greater clarity, but perhaps one episode per week will allow everything to coalesce. The main thrust of the show remains the epic battle between two great adversaries: Foundation, under the mysterious leadership of the mostly-absent Jared Harris, versus Empire, under the rule of the often-missing Lee Pace.
This season, another mysterious figure entered the fray: The Mule (Pilou Asbaek), a Trader who seeks rulership of the universe through his own evil, nefarious means. Somehow, The Mule can exert power over every other creature in the universe by glaring at them and making them do his will.
Everything that happens in the show is presented in a straight-faced, sober manner that demands respect, even though its purposeful elusiveness makes it blasted difficult to follow. Stream at your own peril this year.
Now Streaming celebrates independent and international genre films and television shows that are newly available on legal streaming services.