Like last year I’ll definitely slide in some extra viewing over the rest of the holiday week before this year’s “best of” post, but here’s some stuff I’ve experienced lately (and not necessarily only new releases):

Maestro (Movie): Fantastic performances all around

Leonard Bernstein: Reaching For The Note (Movie): Obviously had to immediately follow it up with a doc

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (TV): This has no right to be this entertaining

Godzilla Minus One (Movie): Also on the Godzilla front, this was extremely good

Doctor Who 2023 Specials 2-4 (TV): Loved the whole batch, and I’m excited for the upcoming season

Think Twice: Michael Jackson (Podcast): Equal parts compelling and disturbing

Thriller 40 (Movie): The thing was just an absolute juggernaut

Slow Horses (TV): I’m years late to it, but it’s great!

Past Lives (Movie): I found this really touching and masterfully restrained

Bad Surgeon: Love Under The Knife (TV): Kind of jaw-dropping

Dr. Death (TV): The dramatized version is exactly what I need it to be

Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (Movie): The story of how his father died is insane

Fishing With John (TV): Had always wanted to watch this (being a fan of Painting With John), glad I finally did

Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles (Movie): These guys were a massive favorite when my boys were growing up, and this was for real a super interesting story with some dark turns that you might not expect

Born in Synanon (TV): I think I’d maybe heard their name before, but I was largely unfamiliar and tore through this

Down By Law (Movie): Really good, I feel a Jim Jarmusch deep dive coming on

Coffee and Cigarettes (Movie): I’d seen this (and largely forgotten most of it) years ago, but enjoyed it a great deal this time around

Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals (TV): All too common

Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis (Movie): What an amazing run, so many iconic images

Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage, and Reckoning (TV): I wasn’t aware of this story at all, and it was both infuriating and entirely unsurprising

A Disturbance in The Force (Movie): A delight, and I’m glad they were equally perplexed by the “Grandpa Watching VR Porn” scene

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