Screen Stuff Podcast

Mosaic.

Paul and Elgin check out #Mosaic:

Mosaic, directed by Steven Soderbergh, written by Ed Solomon, and starring Sharon Stone and Garrett Hedlund, among others. This is a free interactive TV series, available  now as an app and later in more traditional form on HBO. Are the “choose your own adventure” format and other features, such as pop-up websites and PDFs and optional flashbacks, revolutionary or just gimmickry? Are the performances and shooting style enhancements or distractions for this ambitious Soderbergh project?

The Mayor.

Elgin and Paul discuss #TheMayorABC:

The Mayor, created by Jeremy Bronson and starring Brandon Micheal Hall as the aspiring rapper and newly elected mayor, Lea Michele as his advisor, and Yvette Nicole Brown as his mom. Does this single-cam comedy (both a reflection of and rebuttal to the rise of Trump) offer us anything fresh or interesting in form or content?

Justice League, plus a discussion on watching or avoiding screen stuff involving artists and entertainers recently accused of sexual assault or harassment; with additional takes on Too Funny to Fail and One Mississippi season 2, Song to Song and To the Wonder, Mudbound, and The Paperboy.

Paul and Elgin review #JusticeLeague:

Justice League (42:00), directed by Zack Snyder (and Joss Whedon) and starring Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, and Ray Fisher. A troubled production, plagued by numerous problems including Cavill’s mustache, this latest installment in the DCEU ostensibly advances the stories of Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman while introducing the Flash, Aquaman., and Cyborg. Does the final product add up? Is this latest superhero team-up tent pole worth a view?

The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) and Mindhunter.

Elgin and Paul discuss #MeyerowitzStories and #Mindhunter:

The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (00:56), written and directed by Noah Baumbach and starring Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Elizabeth Marvel, and Emma Thompson. Yet another story of family dysfunction, Baumbach’s latest is featured on Netflix and in some select theaters. Does Baumbach ground his actors well enough that their personae don’t overwhelm the movie?

Mindhunter (23:42), created by David Fincher and starring Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, and Anna Torv. Based on a true story (and already renewed for a second season), this new Netflix TV drama set in the 1970s revolves around two FBI agents who advanced criminal science by profiling serial killers, such as Ed Kemper. Does this show bring something fresh to a subject that’s been covered in a myriad of ways since The Silence of the Lambs?

I Love You, America and Big Mouth.

Paul and Elgin check out #ILoveYouAmerica and #BigMouth:

I Love You, America (02:20), hosted by Sarah Silverman. Here’s a new talk from Hulu (no doubt inspired by the Trump presidency) that aims to bridge the gap between folks in red and blue states while making you chuckle. But are Silverman and her provocative sense of humor the right vehicles for this lofty endeavor?

Big Mouth (22:16), created by Nick Kroll, Jennifer Flackett, and Andrew Goldberg and starring the voices of Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Fred Armisen, Jessi Klein, Jordan Peele, Maya Rudolph, and Jenny Slate, among others. Described by the creators as a perverted Wonder Years, this cartoon from Netflix certainly pushes the envelope on several fronts. But is it funny? And does it have a heart? We touch on its similarities to and departures from South Park and The Simpsons.