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The Polygon staff is lastly again within the (proverbial) workplace from a protracted and restful winter trip. Apart from celebrating the vacations with our family members and eagerly trying ahead to video games, films, books, comics, and TV exhibits set to come back out in 2022, we used the break to binge-watch some previous favorites alongside the leisure we had at all times been that means to atone for again in 2021.
The heartwarming black-and-white Joaquin Phoenix drama C’mon C’mon; HBO Max’s The Flight Attendant; a first-time watch of 1999’s The Matrix (!) — right here’s all the pieces we watched at house over the vacations.
C’mon C’mon
Picture: A24
It’s virtually too simple to say that top-of-the-line films I noticed over the vacations is one in regards to the easy reality of dwelling in another person’s sneakers, however that’s the magic of cinema, child. Outdated issues turn out to be new, and we’re reminded of issues so elementary that we unintentionally stripped them of that means.
C’mon C’mon is the newest movie from director Mike Mills, a narrative about Johnny (Joaquin Phoenix), a radio journalist who talks to youngsters. He travels across the nation, asking native youngsters what they consider the longer term. Johnny himself, nevertheless, appears mired in a previous he doesn’t ever wish to speak about — and due to his solitary existence, nobody’s actually round to make him.
Then, on a uncommon go to to his sister, he volunteers to assist her out and watch his 9-year-old nephew Jesse for a number of days, taking him on the highway with him as he interviews different youngsters. In his time with Jesse, Johnny begins to raised recognize his sister and her struggles as a single dad or mum, trying past the strained relationship that they had as siblings and studying, by Jesse, that there’s perhaps extra rising to do.
Once more: On paper, that is all very primary, however in execution? C’mon C’mon hits like a rattling freight practice of empathy. Mike Mills has a young humanity to his work that’s turn out to be his trademark, and paired with the large expertise of Joaquin Phoenix, baby actor Woody Norman, and black-and-white cinematography by Robbie Ryan, C’mon C’mon transcends, a feel-good film that’s neither saccharine nor cloying. As a substitute, it’s sincere, first inviting you to really feel its characters’ frustrations and fears, earlier than lastly, ultimately, asking you to smile together with them. —Joshua Rivera
C’mon C’mon is obtainable to hire for $19.99 on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu.
The Flight Attendant
Picture: Colin Hutton/HBO Max
Ever handle to stay by a viral viewing phenomenon with out gleaning a lot of something about what it entails? That’s me and HBO’s mystery-thriller sequence The Flight Attendant, which appeared like the one factor anybody was watching when season 1 aired again in November 2020. I used to be by no means positive why till this Christmas break, when my sister pressured me to observe it together with her, and we wound up bingeing all eight episodes in two days.
It’s a fairly knotty, compelling thriller, as a flight attendant named Cassie (Kaley Cuoco) “with an alcoholism downside,” per HBO’s description, makes a complete lot of unhealthy decisions and in addition finally ends up with a world homicide downside, a “being pursued by the FBI” downside, a critical PTSD downside, and a few hallucination issues. The construction of the thriller is strong, however the construction of the story is even higher, as Cassie retains getting pulled right into a form of dreamspace the place she navigates the homicide and her personal troubled psyche alongside the not-very-helpful homicide sufferer. It’s inventive, compelling, and really fast-paced, however you’ll want a powerful tolerance for folks making completely self-destructive selections at each flip. —Tasha Robinson
The Flight Attendant is streaming on HBO Max.
The Nice
Picture: Ollie Upton/Hulu
The primary season of The Nice gave me one thing very uncommon: a present that my complete household was tremendous concerned with. Naturally, we needed to wait until we had been all reunited for the vacations to observe the second season.
The Hulu unique sequence very loosely adapts Catherine the Nice’s rise to energy, with some pleasant anachronisms like picket curler coasters invented for science gala’s and crocodiles roaming by the courtroom. It’s arduous to choose favorites among the many colourful forged of politically savvy (and attractive) spiritual authorities, unhappy previous generals, scheming courtiers, and a fully terrible but lovable former emperor. It’s violent and attractive and but extremely charming and humorous. Catherine (Elle Fanning) has maybe bitten off greater than she will chew, however we as viewers know that historical past is on her aspect, even when the present takes huge inventive liberties when detailing her journey. And to not spoil that a lot, however The Nice has one of the crucial scrumptious and fulfilling enemies-to-lovers arcs I’ve ever seen. Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult are electrical collectively.
You received’t study lots of precise Russian historical past from watching The Nice, however there have been sufficient “often true” (because the present’s subtitle emphasizes) moments to pique my curiosity and ship me down Wikipedia rabbit holes. And actually, what extra may I need from a present? —Petrana Radulovic
The Nice is streaming on Hulu.
Misplaced in Area
Picture: Netflix
I’m an enormous area nerd, so when the Misplaced in Area reboot confirmed up on Netflix in 2018, I jumped proper in. Sitting by the primary few episodes, nevertheless, I started to query the choice to market the present as household programming. As a dad or mum, I had some massive issues with the fabric, particularly for youthful youngsters.
Mild spoilers, however the premiere episode places fragile younger explorers into some critical (and intensely claustrophobic) hazard. Making issues worse, in my view, was Parker Posey’s Dr. Zoe Smith, a menacing antagonist that goes far past mustache twirling into legit homicides just about proper off the bat. I can confidently say that my (on the time) 9-year-old and 6-year-old had been merely not up for the problem.
Quick ahead to 2022, and my two tiny companions are a number of years older now. Additionally they have issues like a worldwide pandemic and the transition to junior highschool underneath their belt now, so the perils of area journey aren’t fairly as scary. We’re crusing by season 1 as a household, and I’m skipping forward to guarantee that the conclusion to this new, remaining third season is worthy of the time dedication. —Charlie Corridor
Misplaced in Area is streaming on Netflix.
The Most Unknown
Picture: Abramorama
All crafting initiatives with a deadline finish in a night of frenzied stitching. And for background watching, as I doggedly embroidered a tiny felt cape, a good friend advisable The Most Unknown with out describing it in any means. I bit.
The Most Unknown is a science documentary, I’m simply now studying by way of Google, from director Ian Cheney and producer Werner Herzog, however it’s actually about science communication. First, we’re launched to a biologist who research cave slimes. She goes to go to a physicist, to speak about darkish matter. Then the physicist goes to go to a psychologist, to discover the mysteries of cognition. Then the psychologist flies midway all over the world to satisfy a biologist learning extremophile micro organism. On and on, a hoop of scientists visiting scientists circles the globe, from distant telescopes on the high of mountains to bizarre fish on the backside of the ocean.
The subject of dialog is the “most unknown” reply in every specialist’s subject of research, and from that immediate spring uncanny connections between the sciences and a deep sense of the joyfully undertaken Sisyphean job of laying one other rung on the ladder to the universe’s mysteries, realizing that it might not get the place it’s going till after you’re a footnote in a textbook. —Susana Polo
The Most Unknown is streaming on Netflix.
The Matrix
Picture: Warner Bros. Footage
I watched The Matrix for the primary time in 2021. A bunch of oldsters right here at Polygon had been speaking in regards to the franchise in Slack after I admitted that I’d by no means seen the film earlier than. I figured that I had been in a position to glean the gist of it by memes and cultural references all through the years.
Listed here are three issues I believed I knew about The Matrix: 1. Everybody has cool sun shades. 2. When you die within the Matrix, you die in actual life. 3. There are crimson and blue capsules that appear like Mike and Ikes.
In preparation, I went to the movie show closest to me, purchased popcorn and M&Ms, and settled down to observe The Matrix that evening. And, like … what the fuck? Nobody advised me The Matrix was like that. (And I imply that in a great way.) It seems, I used to be proper about lots of what The Matrix is, however there may be additionally a lot extra that I couldn’t have dreamed up.
It blew my thoughts in a means I think about it might need after I was 11. I’m additionally shocked that I used to be in a position to preserve myself free from spoilers for therefore lengthy; I used to be legitimately shocked by The Matrix. Sadly, I didn’t find yourself watching any extra of the Matrix films in the course of the vacation break, however my husband did watch the second with headphones whereas I used to be reaching. I regarded up a number of occasions and noticed some folks with what gave the impression to be child powder on their faces and hair, and I’m desperate to finally see what’s up with that. —Nicole Carpenter
The Matrix is streaming on HBO Max.
Woodlands Darkish and Days Bewitched: A Historical past of People Horror
Picture: Severin Movies
I’m probably not positive I can advocate a three-hour documentary a couple of horror subgenre with no reservations, however that description alone ought to let you know if this film’s for you.
Woodlands Darkish and Days Bewitched: A Historical past of People Horror is an exploration of the historical past and inspiration of people horror films from all all over the world. With such an enormous topic, it isn’t the deepest documentary ever made, however what it lacks in depth it makes up for with really spectacular breadth.
Over its six elements, this doc covers the deep traditions of English paganism that make up the muse of people horror within the widespread creativeness — assume The Wicker Man (1973). But it surely additionally expands the style’s definitions to incorporate issues like American horror movies about slavery and “historic Indian burial grounds,” German and Scandinavian tales that date again to the Center Ages, and flicks about historic Japanese demons. With dozens and dozens of movies talked about, Woodlands Darkish is an unimaginable primer on people horror and one of the crucial full subgenre syllabuses ever compiled. —Austen Goslin
Woodlands Darkish and Days Bewitched: A Historical past of People Horror is obtainable to hire for $1.99 on Amazon, $4.99 on Apple, $3.99 on Vudu.
The Wheel of Time
Picture: Jan Thijs/Amazon Prime Video
After burning by each accessible episode of The Expanse’s remaining season, I used to be looking for one other sagalike science fiction or fantasy present to sink into. Amazon Prime saved suggesting The Wheel of Time, and although I knew little or no about it, I made a decision, why the hell not?
The present grabbed me instantly, with its interpretation of magic wielding — often called channeling — and its order of girls channelers, the Aes Sedai. Rosamund Pike performs Moiraine, an Aes Sedai who’s looking for the following “Dragon,” a heroic channeler who’s destined to destroy the Darkish One. There are, apparently, 5 doable candidates who is likely to be the “Dragon Reborn,” and we’re undecided who it’s.
The Wheel of Time is propulsive and straightforward to sink into, with its action-heavy opening and largely single strand of narrative, which helps the present keep away from the entice of dumping tons of exposition very early. Numerous enjoyable channeling scenes, tense fights towards trollocs (orclike human-animal monsters), and teenage romance and angst. If something, the plot could be a little too propulsive, with characterizations feeling a bit haphazard at occasions, because the 5 potential Dragons Reborn make out-of-character selections that really feel extra like plot development.
However this doesn’t make it any much less enjoyable to observe. I’m at all times within the melodrama, and excited to see all the acquainted fantasy tropes that I’ve beloved through the years. It’s been some time since I’ve sunk right into a fantasy sequence — I by no means obtained into Sport of Thrones, due to my low tolerance for onscreen gore. The Wheel of Time was a really welcome binge watch, and I’m excited to see what the following season appears like. —Nicole Clark
The Weel of Time is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Naoki Urasawa’s Monster
Picture: Madhouse
Over the vacations, on a spur-of-the-moment impulse after watching The Matrix Resurrections a bajillion occasions, I sat all the way down to rewatch certainly one of my all-time favourite anime: Monster. Based mostly on Naoki Urasawa’s thriller thriller manga sequence, the 2004 anime directed by Masayuki Kojima (Made in Abyss) and produced by studio Madhouse has been lauded as top-of-the-line animated sequence of the early aughts. And for good motive: The difference of Urasawa’s meticulous plotting and multifaceted characters is fastidious and spectacular, remodeling an already riveting drama right into a compulsively bingeworthy masterpiece.
The sequence facilities on Dr. Kenzo Tenma, a gifted younger neurosurgeon whose life is thrown into turmoil when he saves the life of a kid who seems to be a superb serial killer. Implicated for a sequence of murders he didn’t commit, Tenma is pressured to go on the run seeking proof of the killer’s existence with a view to clear his identify, solely to be thrust right into a terrifying conspiracy. Regardless of Monster being critically acclaimed, the sequence is certainly one of numerous anime which were rendered inaccessible on account of a lapse of licensing rights within the West.
There are different, albeit admittedly inconvenient, methods to observe the sequence, equivalent to shelling out the money for a region-free DVD participant and buying an entire field set of the anime from Australia. Is it price it? Having simply accomplished my second watch and already tempted to begin it once more, I can confidently say the reply is an emphatic “sure.” Even barring that, it’s nonetheless price it to hunt out and begin studying the unique manga. —Toussaint Egan
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