Category Archives: Special Features

Seasons of Seasons

Seasons of Seasons: Community Season 2, “Anthropology 101” & “Accounting for Lawyers”

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In my mind, Community is a show that has had a lasting footprint across the pop culture landscape, and feels a bit like an afterthought at the same time. The show essentially launched the careers of many big names still working steadily today, both in front and behind the camera. And yet, I don’t know how many people outside of my age group point to the show as one of the sterling examples of the Golden Age of TV that kicked off in the late 2000’s. So this season should prove to be an interesting experiment to determine where I land on the show’s lasting legacy. After the success of the back half of season one of the show, Dan Harmon had the wind at his back with season two, in spite of the show’s poor performance in ratings and the general lack of support from the NBC brass.

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Awards, Emmys 2022, Special Features

2022 Emmy Predictions

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The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards will be presented on September 12, 2022. Here are our ranked predictions for the actors and shows most likely to win. Check back in, as the list will be updated often.

Best Drama SeriesBest Comedy Series
1. Succession
2. Squid Game
3. Stranger Things
4. Better Call Saul
5. Ozark
6. Euphoria
7. Severance
8. Yellowjackets 		1. Abbott Elementary
2. Ted Lasso
3. Barry
4. Hacks
5. Only Murders in the Building
6. What We Do in the Shadows
7. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
8. Curb Your Enthusiasm
Best Actress – DramaBest Supporting Actress – Drama
1. Zendaya, “Euphoria”
2. Melanie Lynskey, “Yellowjackets”
3. Laura Linney, “Ozark”
4. Reese Witherspoon, “The Morning Show”
5. Jodie Comer, “Killing Eve”
6. Sandra Oh, “Killing Eve”		1. Julia Garner, “Ozark”
2. Sarah Snook, “Succession”
3. Rhea Seehorn, “Better Call Saul”
4. Sydney Sweeney, “Euphoria”
5. Jung Ho-yeon, “Squid Game”
6. J. Smith-Cameron, “Succession”
7. Patricia Arquette, “Severance”
8. Christina Ricci, “Yellowjackets”
Best Actor – DramaBest Supporting Actor – Drama
1. Brian Cox, “Succession”
2. Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”
3. Jeremy Strong, “Succession”
4. Lee Jun-jae, “Squid Game”
5. Jason Bateman, “Ozark”
6. Adam Scott, “Severance”
1. Matthew Macfayden, “Succession”
2. Kieran Culkin, “Succession”
3. Park Hae-soo, “Squid Game”
4. John Turturro, “Severance”
5. Oh Yeong-su, “Squid Game”
6. Billy Crudup, “The Morning Show”
7. Nicholas Braun, “Succession”
8. Christopher Walken, “Severance”
Best Actress – ComedyBest Supporting Actress – Comedy
1. Jean Smart, “Hacks”
2. Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”
3. Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
4. Issa Rae, “Insecure”
5. Elle Fanning, “The Great”
6. Kaley Cuoco, “The Flight Attendant”		1. Janelle James, “Abbott Elementary”
2. Hannah Waddingham, “Ted Lasso”
3. Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”
4. Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live”
5. Juno Temple, “Ted Lasso”
6. Sheryl Lee Ralph, “Abbott Elementary”
7. Alex Borstein, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
8. Sarah Niles, “Ted Lasso”
Best Actor – ComedyBest Supporting Actor – Comedy
1. Bill Hader, “Barry”
2. Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”
3. Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building”
4. Donald Glover, “Atlanta”
5. Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
6. Nicholas Hoult, “The Great”		1. Brett Goldstein, “Ted Lasso”
2. Henry Winkler, “Barry”
3. Bowen Yang, “Saturday Night Live”
4. Nick Mohammed, “Ted Lasso”
5. Toheeb Jimoh, “Ted Lasso”
6. Anthony Carrigan, “Barry”
7. Tyler James Williams, “Abbott Elementary”
8. Tony Shaloub, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Best Limited SeriesBest TV Movie
1. Dopesick
2. The White Lotus
3. The Dropout
4. Pam and Tommy
5. Inventing Anna		1. The Survivor
2. Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers
3. Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas
4. Reno 911!: The Hunt for QAnon
5. Ray Donovan: The Movie
Best Actress – Limited SeriesBest Supporting Actress – Limited Series
1. Amanda Seyfried, “The Dropout”
2. Lily James, “Pam and Tommy”
3. Toni Collette, “The Staircase”
4. Sarah Paulson, “Impeachment: American Crime Story”
5. Margaret Qualley, “Maid
6. Julia Garner, “Inventing Anna”		1. Jennifer Coolidge, “The White Lotus”
2. Kaitlyn Dever, “Dopesick”
3. Mare Winningham, “Dopesick”
4. Alexandra Daddario, “The White Lotus”
5. Connie Britton, “The White Lotus”
6. Natasha Rothwell, “The White Lotus”
7. Sydney Sweeney, “The White Lotus”
Best Actor – Limited SeriesBest Supporting Actor – Limited Series
1. Michael Keaton, “Dopesick”
2. Colin Firth, “The Staircase”
3. Andrew Garfield, “Under the Banner of Heaven”
4. Sebastian Stan, “Pam and Tommy”
5. Oscar Isaac, “Scenes From a Marriage”
6. Himesh Patel, “Station Eleven”		1. Murray Bartlett, “The White Lotus”
2. Michael Stuhlbarg, “Dopesick”
3. Will Poulter, “Dopesick”
4. Jake Lacy, “The White Lotus”
5. Peter Sarsgaard, “Dopesick”
6. Seth Rogen, “Pam and Tommy”
7. Steve Zahn, “The White Lotus”
Best Animated SeriesBest Variety Talk Show
1. Rick and Morty
2. Bob’s Burgers
3. What If…?
4. The Simpsons
5. Arcane: League of Legends		1. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
2. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
3. Late Night with Seth Meyers
4. The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
5. Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Best of 2022, Special Features

Best TV Shows of 2022 So Far

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Though I’ve done better this year at keeping up with television, notably absent from this list are some of the shows that tend to dominate the cultural conversation like Succession, Abbott Elementary, The Staircase, Hacks, Euphoria, Our Flag Means Death, Better Call Saul, and more. Nevertheless, here are some of the best series of the first half of the year.

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Best of 2022, Special Features

Best Movie Performances of 2022 So Far

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Every year brings new, exciting performances from actors old and new, and 2022 has been no different in its first six months. Here are the best. *Note: I have not yet seen Elvis but, by all accounts, Austin Butler would belong on this list

Honorable Mentions:

  • Joel Kim Booster, Fire Island
  • Mia Goth, X
  • Justin H. Min, After Yang
  • Glen Powell, Top Gun: Maverick
  • Kali Reis, Catch the Fair One
  • Alexander Skarsgård, The Northman
  • Emma Thompson, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
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Kurosawa, Special Features

Japan’s Warrior Filmmaker: The Films of Akira Kurosawa – One Wonderful Sunday

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One Wonderful Sunday (Postwar Kurosawa 2)

  • Starring: Isao Numasaki, CHieko Nakakita

Grade: A

One Wonderful Sunday is a contemporary Kurosawa film set against postwar Japan as it was under allied occupation. It follows a young couple having a date on a tight budget of 35 yen between the two of them. Prior to the war, Yuzo (Isao Numasaki) and Masako (Chieko Nakakita) dreamed of opening their own café with affordable drinks and pastries. However, the war changed things. 

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Kurosawa, Special Features

Japan’s Warrior Filmmaker: The Films of Akira Kurosawa – No Regrets for Our Youth

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No Regrets for Our Youth (Postwar Kurosawa 1)

  • Starring: Sutsuko Hara, Denjirō Ōkōchi, Susumu Fujita, Haruko Sugimura

Grade: C

Following the end of World War II, while Japan transitioned to being under occupation by Allied forces, Kurosawa began exploring the state of his country and its role in the war. With No Regrets for Our Youth, he examined the sociopolitical climate at home as Japan’s militarism changed and the war raged. He accomplished this by drawing inspiration from the 1933 Takigawa Incident, in which a professor at Kyoto University was fired for perceived Marxist teachings. Yet Kurosawa uses his version of the Takigawa Incident as a jumping off point for a greater story he has to tell. 

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Kurosawa, Special Features

Japan’s Warrior Filmmaker: The Films of Akira Kurosawa – The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail

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The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail (Early Kurosawa 4)

  • Starring: Denjirô Ôkôchi, Susumu Fujita, Ken’ichi Enomoto, Masayuki, Mori

Grade: C

There’s something to the brevity of Kurosawa’s The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail that gives the film a sense of intimacy. Since it was filmed during WWII, mostly on one set, and with a runtime that doesn’t break an hour, it nearly comes across as a stage play more than a film. This is fitting given it’s an adaptation of a famed story that was popular in Noh and Kabuki theater. The story follows a Lord with his samurai retainers in 12th century Japan sneaking past enemy territory disguised as monks. Along the way, they must convince a brigade of guards that they are in fact monks and not a party for the Lord with a price on his head. 

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