This Week’s Binge 1.22.21

WandaVision

Disney+

Whoa. Not what I expected. Wanda and Vision are two of the Avengers but you don’t need to have watched the Avengers to watch ‘WandaVision‘.

This series releases episodes weekly so only two have been released so far, but not what I was expecting. It’s set as a 1950s television comedy, shown in black and white. The humor, the style, the dialogue…all indicative of the 1950s. You kind of get that from the trailer, but I thought that was more of a gimmick, and then would get back to modern times. But so far nope.

By the end of episode 2, there is a glimmer that something more is going on, so I’ll keep watching but I will be v annoyed if the entire series is a black and white comedy. I will give it to Marvel, nothing like this has been done before.

I am: Entertained

MLK/FBI

Amazon Prime Video

In this documentary, we learn of recently unclassified FBI files and examine the surveillance and persecution of Martin Luther King, Jr.

There have been so many amazing films made about MLK that it’s hard to compete with something new (‘Selma‘ is a personal favorite). But it did make me think, especially because this MLK day felt a lot different than it did a year ago.

While I was watching the movie I found my mind wandering back to ‘Untamed‘ and Glennon Doyle’s chapter on racism. The cliff notes version if you haven’t read it yet (spoiler, Obsessed!) is she’s teaching her daughters about MLK and the one asks if they were alive back then would they have marched too. And her initial thought is of course, but then her other daughter pipes in and says no because they aren’t marching now. And that.was.powerful. She reminds us that we look back with the gift of hindsight and see what a leader he was and everything he did for our nation, but as his own daughter points out, he had a 75% disapproval rating at the time of his assassination. He was not beloved by all as he is today.

‘MLK/FBI‘ wasn’t the best film I’ve seen, but it’s a thought provoker. What position do we want to take in a social revolution? And has our government helped or hindered the fight for equality?

I am: Entertained

Promising Young Woman

Amazon Prime Video

Triggering. A little too real. ‘Promising Young Woman‘ borders the line between campy drama and dark comedy. Dark, dark comedy.

From the director of ‘Killing Eve‘ comes this sexual assault revenge story. The directing is great, the music is great, the cinematography is great, the acting is great. It’s just…triggering. I think it’s so realistic because it was directed by a woman, she just gets it.

Don’t be surprised if some Oscar nominations come from this (best actress, best director, best film).

I am: Entertained