Comic Book Heroes Get Punished
WEEKEND GUIDE JANUARY 2019
Here's a handy guide for what to watch on a screen near you this weekend!
It had been a good long while since M. Night Shyamalan had enjoyed a hit both critical and financial. The master of the "twist" had fallen out of favor with fans and critics alike after clunkers like The Happening, The Last Airbender, and After Earth. Split was released in the winter of 2016 and was met with a resounding "Hell Yes!". Bolstered by a magnificent performance by James McAvoy(portraying a multitude of fully formed characters as a man stricken with split personality disorder), Split was a runaway success. It wasn't until the final moment of the film, however, that we saw Bruce Willis' David Dunn, thus revealing that Split shares the same universe as another Shyamalan hit, Unbreakable. Three years later, we have Glass, the Unbreakable/Split marriage that everyone was so excited for. Will it live up to the hype? Ummmm, don't check rotten tomatoes.
Personal Interest Level 8/10
Marvel's The Punisher Season 2(Netflix)
As Netflix has been canceling their Marvel properties left and right(RIP Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist), I don't have very high hopes for a Punisher Season 3. With Disney's upcoming streaming service on the way, Netflix is playing defense against what will surely be a heavy hitter when it comes to Marvel. But let's not worry about that yet, because Punisher Season 2 is here! The Punisher has always been one of my absolute favorites. The ultimate antihero. He has no superpowers, he's just really good with weapons. He doesn't have a no killing policy, he's literally here to murder you. I was very underwhelmed by the Thomas Jane and Ray Stevenson versions of Frank Castle, but Jon Bernthal proved to be an amazing fit for the role. I've heard from plenty of folks who don't care for the Netflix series, but for my money, it's the best Punisher we've got. Check it out!
Personal Interest Level 8/10
Crashing Season 3(HBO)
I'm an admitted stand up comedy nerd. I find it to be a fascinating profession, and it's not one that we often get great fictionalized peeks at. Louie? Funny People? Punch Line? There's not much out there, but I'm here to tell you that the Judd Apatow produced Crashing is one of my favorite HBO series to come down the pike in years. Created by and starring stand up comic Pete Holmes, it follows Pete as he pathetically traverses the New York comedy scene after he walks in on his wife cheating on him. Starring a who's who of east coast comics to help him along the way(Artie Lange and Bill Burr are especially great), Pete begins to gain confidence and grow as an artist. While the first two seasons follow him picking up comedy table scraps, season 3 sees him as a successful touring comic. Watching him deal with failure was hilarious. I can't wait to see what success brings.
Personal Interest Level 10/10