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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: M3GAN
M3GAN has revolutionized cinema as we know it. This killer robot is more than the star of her own instant camp classic—the first must-see theatrical experience of 2023. She’s a cultural sensation.
Here’s Fletcher Peters’ take:
“From the very first scene (which I won’t spoil; it’s far funnier to go in blind), M3GAN knows exactly the kind of movie it wants to be: playful, but still thrilling. After that scene, the story begins: while on a winter vacation with her parents, pipsqueak Cady (Violet McGraw) kibitzes with a talking furry doll (similar to a Gremlin) in the backseat of the family car. Cady’s animatronic irritates her father far too much, causing him to drive the car into a major snowplow, killing both parents and injuring Cady in the wreck. This, along with that killer opening scene, all happen within the first 200 seconds of the film.
M3GAN’s inner turmoil leads to the catastrophic destruction of the world around her, a conflict that makes the thriller incredibly gripping. She has been programmed to support Cady through any life crisis she may face, but that includes ones created by Gemma. When Gemma wants Cady to eat her vegetables, Cady refuses, and the monstrous M3GAN defends her best friend with murderous intent. The neighbor’s dog bites Cady, so the beast and its owner must die. M3GAN is nearly impossible to kill too; she’s a robot with the ability to hack, puncture skin, crush bones, and manipulate voices. She’s the perfect horror baddie.”
Tom Hanks and Mariana Treviño in A Man Called Otto.
Niko TaverniseSkip: A Man Called Otto
A Man Called Otto is another dud from Tom Hanks, who takes on the role of an infallible curmudgeon to the tune of zero laughs in one of the strangest films in recent memory. Paying money to see this in theaters? I think Nott-o.
Here’s Coleman Spilde’s take:
“Even when Tom Hanks misses, he’s usually enjoyable to watch. Hanks delivers consistently reliable work that grounds his films; we know that guy, and we like that guy! But in A Man Called Otto, Hanks drops a piece of flaming dog shit on America’s doorstep with his least likable character yet.
With some tinkering, A Man Called Otto could have at least turned itself into the heartwarming but forgettable dramedy it’s intended to be. But with Hanks hammering his cranky character into the audience at every conceivable second, it’s a wonder anyone else on-screen bothers to look at him, let alone try to strike up a conversation. What’s more, this is a much darker film than anyone could’ve expected. But by the time viewers are clued into that, they’ve become so exhausted by Hanks that it’s impossible to buy into the film’s latent emotion. A Man Called Otto has done the unthinkable, turning everyone’s favorite actor into an irredeemably insufferable prick.”
Jamie Lynn Spears falls from a helicopter in Special Forces: World's Toughest Test.
Pete Dadds/FoxSee: Special Forces
Special Forces is the harrowing product of twisted minds too sick to have their vision be brought to life until now. That vision, naturally, is pushing C-list celebrities out of helicopters and setting them on fire for our enjoyment.
Here’s Kevin Fallon’s take:
“There is something both inevitable and inspired about Special Forces. The pitch is so obvious, and yet so preposterous. ‘We need another big reality show. Any ideas?’ ‘I don’t know. I guess we could get a bunch of celebrities and then…set them on fire? Would that work?’ The premise of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test seems like something that has to have already existed on reality TV, yet somehow is a new show. Fox gathered the most random assortment of celebrities, brought them to the middle of the desert in Jordan, and subjected them to a series of grueling, terrifying stunts meant to mimic training exercises used to select elite military personnel.
In slow motion, we watch as Mel B of the Spice Girls breathes herself into a calm state and then literally falls out of a helicopter backwards and crashes into the water. The girl who played Lucy Camden on 7th Heaven (Beverley Mitchell) winces as she throws caution to the actual wind and leans out of a flying chopper. Jamie Lynn Spears studiously listens to the commander’s instructions, lets out a deep sigh of faith, and then over-rotates as she plunges into the sea, fully doing a belly flop. ‘Buffoon!’ the commander, who, I kid you not, goes by the name of ‘Foxy’ shouts. ‘You clown!’ Everything in that preceding paragraph is an assemblage of words that should not exist. Yet this is a real thing that I watched with my own two eyes.”
See: Ginny & Georgia
Ginny & Georgia returns from Taylor Swift cancellation land for Season 2, ratcheting up the mother-daughter drama’s best and strangest impulses from its first season for a more gripping and heartfelt second act.
(L to R) Antonia Gentry as Ginny, Brianne Howey as Georgia in Ginny & Georgia.
Marni Grossman/NetflixHere’s Laura Bradley’s take:
“At every turn, Ginny & Georgia Season 1 revealed another shard of inspiration. The mere presence of Raymond Ablack—known to Degrassi fans as Sav Bhandari—highlighted the DNA this new Netflix series mined from the hyper-dramatic Canadian teen show before it. A carnival episode harkened back to Euphoria, and sometimes, when Ginny’s psyche would take a particularly dour turn, things got very 13 Reasons Why very fast.
I’ll admit, I went into Ginny & Georgia Season 2 very ready to hate it, after really disliking Season 1. Apparently, however, this kooky Franken-show has grown on me—you know, like a rash, or a fungus or something. Around Episode 4, I began to wonder if the past couple years have melted my brain. (Season 1 premiered in February 2021.) But after a few more episodes, all of which I gobbled up in one marathon, it became clear that many of the elements that didn’t work about Season 1 have actually improved in this new chapter. It’s a New Year’s miracle!”
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