Hollywood Rx

At long last, 2020 is over -- and so is the Doctors' extended hiatus! Hollywood has been forced to forever change how we experience entertainment but continues the time-honored tradition of missing most opportunities and mastering only some. This week, we play catch-up as The Queen's Gambit works its magic on one of us while Fargo leaves the other as cold as a Minnesota winter. Make your best opening move with this one!

There’s a new “King of the World” box-office-wise. Todd Phillips’ dark-but-empathetic take on the infamous Agent of Chaos is the rare blockbuster that actually lives up to the hype. Incredulously, Joaquin Phoenix manages to turn the most famous madman of the comic book universe into his own Killer Klown from Inner Space. Where does it fall on the Scorsese-artometer according to your good doctors? Tune in for this and other laughing matters...

Quentin Tarantino just may be a lover and a dancer. His latest opus is an ode to the L.A. of his youth, lovingly awash in vibe and local detail, and yet he manages to skirt around some of its thornier subjects. If the devil is in the details, who's minding the plot? Your good doctors break it all down: QT, Leo, Brad, Margot, Manson, and, yes, the Bruce Lee scene. Now THIS is a star-studded 'cast...

After breaking hearts with star-crossed lovers in La La Land, Damien Chazalle set his sights on a star-crossed man and his journey to space. Ryan Gosling plays Neil Armstrong in this epic story of how the first man on the moon got to be the first man on the moon. Does the film boldly go where no film has gone before, or do the Doctors send the crew back to the launching pad? Find it here – the only escape pod you’ll ever need…

Hey kids, remember 14 years ago? Well, that feeling is back: Brad Bird returns with the continued adventures of our favorite superfamily, as smart and sharp as ever, with new powers, new teammates, and more Edna. The rumors are true – it delivers all the punches and juicy wit you remember, and never drops any of the many balls in the air. Dare we say, your Doctors had such a good time, we almost didn’t miss the “The.”

After the death of a grand-matriarch, a family is besieged by some downright creepy and uniquely disturbing circumstances. Held together by the almost savage commitment from a stellar Toni Collette as the grieving mom who uncovers some deep family secrets, this bold debut from writer-director Ari Aster is masterfully crafted in some ways, startlingly fresh in others, and just plain infuriating at times. Find out which spells worked on the Doctors and which ones vanished into thin air...

A long time ago… A character burst on the screen who reignited the swashbuckleage of Errol Flynn with the rugged charm of the handsome carpenter next door. *And* he flew a spaceship… Forty years later, we get an attempt to portray his origins, as only Ron Howard and the Magic of Disney can. Worthy predecessor or lost opportunity? The Doctors have a strong feeling about this...

Joaquin Phoenix delivers what might be his moodiest, broodiest, surliest performance to date in Lynne Ramsay’s tale of a brutal hit man battling his inner demons. Phoenix pulls no punches in his portrayal of a tortured timebomb but does Ramsay raise more questions than the film answers? Docs drop the hammer…

A remote family finds themselves tiptoeing around creatures waiting to pounce at the drop of a dime. With A Quiet Place, John Krasinski accomplished what every director today dreams of: getting an audience to STFU for a while. But the central story speaks volumes – an allegory for our times, or does it just look smarter than it… uh, sounds? Check your stethoscopes at the door, for your doctors’ diagnosis is loud and clear…

Love him or hate him, Wes Anderson makes films like no other filmmaker around. He returns to animation with his latest feature, Isle of Dogs, enlisting a dream cast of voices and canine conundra. Your good doctors look at Anderson’s career as a whole to see where this latest outing fits in his unique universe. Another modern-day masterpiece, or has he finally gone to the dogs? Unleash it here...