TV Snide: May 2022

TV of the Month: Ozark (Netflix): I’m sad to see this come to an end, and what an explosive ending it is. I place this among my favorite dramas, right up with the likes of Mad Men and Friday Night Lights. Jason Bateman’s Marty Byrde is the picture of stability as he and his wife Wendy fight through an endless serious of hoops to get the drug cartels to leave them alone and let them go about their hillbilly embezzlement schemes. 5 out of 5 stars

The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+): This Peter Jackson epic documentary may not be for casual fans, but it placed me, a diehard, into the seat of all those band practices and meetings I was part of in my 20s with my various bands like Dirt Loaded, Birmingham Squadron, Monotremes, and Fine Wine. It’s hard work being in a band and keeping it together. You can see Paul bordering on impatience while John and George goof off during recordings of “serious” tracks like Let It Be and The Long and Winding Road. These guys loved each other. There’s no doubt. Their serious professionalism is ultimately what kept them together for a decade, and it’s a beautiful thing to witness, even if this was after their prime, if it can actually be said that The Beatles had any time that wasn’t their prime. 5 out of 5 stars

Movie of the Month: Raising Arizona (Sling TV): Nicolas Cage’s career highlight anchors this classic and heartwarming comedy from the Coen brothers about a couple of losers who steal the baby of an Arizona furniture magnate before heading down a long road of crises in conscious. 5 out of 5 stars

Watch Me Jumpstart (YouTube): At only 36 minutes, this film plays like an equally brief Guided By Voices album. Like those albums, this rock doc packs a lot in, telling the wonderful story of Robert Pollard and his band’s rise from the gutters and grade schools of Dayton into counter-culture rock icons. 5 out of 5 stars

Novel of the Month: The Wonder Bread Summer by Jessica Anyu : Allie is finishing up college but first she somehow steals a Wonder Bread bag full of coke from a mean and perverted drug dealer, which sets her off on a series of adventures with a series of wacky characters up and down the California coast between Berkeley and Los Angeles. A great fun and fluffy read. 4.5 out of 5 stars

Speed (HBO Max): Keanu Reeves offers his usual cool self, matched up with the always excellent Sandra Bullocl and Jeff Daniel’s, as they try to end ex-bomb squad cop Dennis Hopper from maniacally killing everyone he can for a ransom. 4 out of 5 stars

Bill & Ted Face the Music (Amazon Prime): Keanu Reeves does his usual, can't-not-love self in achoring the hilarious and fun wacky ride through time as the pals try to locate a new song they need to write by mining the inspirations of their younger selves. 4 out of 5

Creep (Netflix): Ever since The League, Mark Duplass can do no wrong in my eyes. I didn’t picture him taking this turn, as a lying creep who lures a filmmaker to an isolated cabin to play mean practical jokes on him. It's a great performance and, at just over an hour, well worth your time. Keep the lights off for ultimate "creeps." 4 out of 5