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There are roughly 47,000—oh, wait, a new Netflix Original just dropped; make that 47,001—TV shows and movies coming out each week. At Obsessed, we consider it our social duty to help you see the best and skip the rest.
We’ve already got a variety of in-depth, exclusive coverage on all of your streaming favorites and new releases, but sometimes what you’re looking for is a simple Do or Don’t. That’s why we created See/Skip, to tell you exactly what our writers think you should See and what you can Skip from the past week’s crowded entertainment landscape.
See: Anyone but You
Anyone but You might be a 108-minute chemistry read between its stars Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney, but even more than their undeniable charm, it’s fascinating (and sometimes a bit cringey) to watch Sweeney stumble her way through her first big comedic role in real-time.
Here’s Coleman Spilde’s take:
“In a recent interview during the fourth hour of Today, co-host Jenna Bush Hager suggested that Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell—stars of the new rom-com Anyone but You (in theaters Dec. 22)—could be our next Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. ‘We’ve talked about it,’ Powell said in response to Hager’s pleas for a proper rom-com renaissance, harkening back to the magic of You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle. ‘We’ll ‘Meg Ryan-and-Tom Hanks’ this thing.’
While Anyone but You grazes the allure of Ryan and Hanks’ collaborations, the film lacks the proper push and pull between comedic beats and dramatic stakes that make those movies so watchable (and rewatchable). And even when it hits a pleasant middle ground to stride upon, Sweeney’s bizarre turn as a flighty law student in a romantic rut pulls the audience out of their momentary stupor. Though her performance is as discombobulated as her character seems to be, Sweeney’s distinct chemistry with Powell—along with Powell’s completely irresistible leading man charms—keep Anyone but You perfectly palatable, even if it won’t trigger a proper rom-com renaissance anytime soon.”
See: Perfect Days
Perfect Days is a lovely look at the beauty of a simple routine. In this case, it’s that of a janitor whose days are spent cleaning and listening to rock music, occasionally broken up by small interactions with seismic impact. It could very well score Japan its next international Oscar.
Here’s Nick Schager’s take:
“The devil may be in the details, but so too is divine bliss, at least for Hirayama (Koji Yakusho), a middle-aged man who cleans toilets for a living, resides by himself in a neatly arranged apartment, and goes about his days and nights according to his very particular and easygoing routines. Perfect Days is the story of this Tokyo man’s humdrum existence and the small yet meaningful interruptions to his customary schedule, told with gentle compassion and laced with an undercurrent of longing and regret. The finest film from German director Wim Wenders in at least two decades, it’s a sweet and sad slice-of-life about the comfort and sorrow of solitary repetition, buoyed by a Yakusho performance that rightly earned him the Best Actor prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Japan’s submission for Best International Feature Film at the forthcoming 96th Academy Awards, Perfect Days exudes the laidback contentment of its protagonist Hirayama, a loner whose mornings, noons, and nights are governed by the same rituals. Waking without an alarm to the sound of a neighbor sweeping the streets, he methodically folds up his sleeping mattress and blanket in his flat, gets ready at his sink, and exits the front door with a gaze up at the sky, his trademark muted smile on his face. Procuring a canned coffee drink from the nearby vending machine, he drives in his equipment-packed van to the city’s many public restrooms, where—in a blue jumpsuit that reads ‘The Tokyo Toilet’—he scrubs, mops, and wipes down everything with meticulous thoroughness, complete with him using a hand mirror to make sure that the underside edges of the toilets and urinals are spotless.”
See: The Doctor Who Christmas special
The Doctor Who Christmas special is a time-honored tradition across the pond, and for good reason: It speaks to the idea of renewal that we all adopt over the holidays. And the newest Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, is a delightfully dynamic face to revive the franchise.
Here’s Isaac Feldberg’s take:
“Christmas is a time for celebration. And for Doctor Who, television’s longest-running sci-fi series, it’s also a time for regeneration. Following a humanoid alien, known as a Time Lord, on adventures through space and time—typically alongside all manner of human companions and alien enemies—the British cult phenomenon was first broadcast in 1963. Since its 2005 relaunch, it’s attracted a loyal fan base well outside the U.K. As any self-respecting Whovian can tell you, the key to Who’s longevity is its propensity for change. Outside of one constant—the TARDIS, a space-time vehicle resembling an old British police box—the series is ever-evolving and famous for recasting its lead; to date, 13 actors have starred as the Doctor, who can regenerate into different bodies at the end of each incarnation’s life, a neat trick that’s allowed a formidable array of stars to take on the iconic role.
From William Hartnell’s stern and grandfatherly original Doctor to Jodie Whittaker’s sunnily optimistic take and David Tennant’s witty, charming incarnation (a fan favorite who, in a twist timed to this year’s 60th anniversary, reprised the role across three special episodes), the Doctor has worn many faces, allowing each new actor to bring a distinct personality to the role. And with this year’s Christmas special, ‘The Church on Ruby Road,’ the series is changing once again, introducing Rwandan-Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th Doctor.”
See: Archer: Into the Cold
Archer: Into the Cold, the hour-long grand finale to 14 seasons of bumbling, foul-mouthed espionage, is a perfect ending to the beloved series. It’s a clever—and unexpectedly emotional—sendoff to these ne’er-do-well spies who changed TV.
Here’s Charles Bramesco’s take:
“Blessed with the peerless cynicism of a former intelligence agent, John le Carré’s 1963 novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold remains the consensus pick for the high-water mark of the espionage genre. The author did away with the image of the spy as crusading defender of Western democracy, casting him instead as an impotent errand boy doing the bidding of shadowy authorities with no moral high ground over their enemies. As le Carré concluded, all these missions and casualties accomplish little more than reinforcing our existing architectures of influence.
It’s with a reverent wink that the super-sized Archer finale, subtitled Into the Cold (which premiered on FX Sunday night, Dec. 17), reflects this same notion. For 14 seasons, the stupid ineffectiveness of Sterling Archer’s much-rebranded agency has provided this FX animated spy spoof with punchlines, each operation tied up either in failure that doesn’t matter or hollow, meaningless successes. But as the gang prepares to disband and the Archer staff does the same, the bleak pointlessness of spycraft provides a clever channel for some weighty emotions rising to the surface.”
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