The Envelope

HBO’s “Succession” wears its contempt for the billionaire class on its sleeve.

Back for its second season, heroes are in short supply while an ensemble of entertainingly loathsome and amoral characters backstab and sabotage each other as they battle for power and control within a global media empire.

The scheming family serve as stand-ins for the Murdochs or the Redstones. But the siblings’ angling for affection and love of their father has distinct echoes of President Trump’s adult offspring.

“Succession” takes you inside the privileged bubble of the .1 percent without glorifying that lifestyle.

The critically acclaimed series was nominated for five Emmys, including best drama, and Times TV editor Matthew Brennan (@thefilmgoer) says it’s the show you need to watch this summer.

Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) talks with Brennan and Meredith Blake (@MeredithBlake) about the show that’s hitting the political and cultural zeitgeist right on the nose.

"The Fast and the Furious" franchise had a humble beginning with muscle cars and sweat, and two guys in Los Angeles who found common ground. But the series long ago added an espionage element that took it to another level of wild storytelling and even wilder action.

Now in its first spin-off, “Hobbs and Shaw,” the multi-billion dollar franchise has also added science fiction and a heavy dose of comedy, mainly the lead characters — Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw, played by Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, respectively — slinging insults at each other.

Vanessa Kirby, best known for "The Crown," plays Hattie Shaw, one of the more complexly written female characters in the franchise.

Johnson, who is also one of the producers, uses the film to showcase his Samoan heritage.

Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) talks with Times film critic Justin Chang (@JustinCChang) and Fast and Furious superfans Jen Yamato (@jenyamato), film reporter for The Times, and BenDavid Grabinski (@bdgrabinski), a filmmaker and showrunner.

*** SPOILER ALERT*** Spoilers start at 15:08.

With a title that suggests the opening of a child’s storybook, Quentin Tarantino revisits the Hollywood of 1969 and that summer night 50 years ago when members of the Manson family set out for Benedict Canyon with murder in their hearts.

The grisly slayings on Cielo Drive — including that of a very pregnant Sharon Tate — cast a long shadow over the romance of the ‘60s counterculture. Tarantino has said that Charles Manson’s ability to manipulate and control his followers still seems "unfathomable" to this day.

In "Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood," the writer and director takes the occasion to revel in the details of the era, complete with commercials, TV shows, songs, radio news and famous locations and restaurants around Los Angeles. But Tarantino also offers up a study of actors — their anxieties, insecurities and the pride they take in their performances.

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the fictional actor Rick Dalton, and Brad Pitt as his stunt double, along with Margot Robbie as the very real Sharon Tate, the film is more emotional and personal than other Tarantino movies.

In fact, Tarantino — who grew up in Los Angeles — has called "Once Upon a Time" his "Roma."

Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) talks with Times film critics @KennethTuran and @JustinCChang, as well as film reporter @jenyamato and special guest Julia Turner (@JuliaTurner), Deputy Managing Editor of Entertainment and Arts.

Deep spoilers involving the end of the film start at 15:08. Come back and listen to our writers’ analysis once you’ve seen "Once Upon a Time."

‘The Farewell,’ a film about a Chinese American woman with an all-Asian cast and dialogue that is largely in Mandarin, has surpassed ‘Avengers: Endgame’ with the largest per-theater box office average this year.

Starring Awkwafina — the scene-stealer from ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ — the heartfelt dramedy provides the latest evidence of the power of a key underserved audience. But ‘The Farewell’ also tells a universal story of family, love, and grief that anyone can relate to.

When filmmaker Lulu Wang pitched the semi-autobiographical story of her family’s efforts to keep her grandmother from learning of her Stage 4 cancer diagnosis, studio executives pushed for a white love interest, and a Chinese version of ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding.’

But Wang stuck to her vision, and refused to resort to a predictable storyline.

Will this tale of an American immigrant family be the indie hit for the summer of 2019?

Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) talks with Times film critic Justin Chang (@JustinCChang) and Times film reporter Jen Yamato (@jenyamato).

In a world of instant clicks and information on demand, director Nicolas Winding Refn took his time to tell the tale of 'Too Old to Die Young,' his new series on Amazon Prime.

The Danish filmmaker — best known for the film 'Drive,' starring Ryan Gosling — has fully embraced the streaming revolution to experiment with pacing, narrative and character development. The 10-episode neon-lit noir features extended pauses between lines of dialogue. Miles Teller, who plays a crooked cop and vigilante assassin, leads a large, ensemble cast.

Refn says the 13-hour show — which he prefers to call a 13-hour movie — reflected his reaction to the “insanity” of the 2016 US presidential election.

Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) talks with Refn (@NicolasWR) about his vision, his casting choices, and why he loves to set his stories in Los Angeles.

Michael Mann’s 1995 'Heat' has become the definitive LA crime film, but probably no one has done more lately to celebrate the epic tale of cops and robbers than a movie critic in Sydney, Australia.

Since the summer of 2017, Blake Howard (@BlakeisBatman) has been subjecting the film — starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro — to a minute-by-minute analysis on his podcast, One Heat Minute. He and his guests have unpacked the nearly three-hour cat-and-mouse caper with admiration and reverence, and an affirmation of their love for cinematic culture.

Howard initially hosted guests who were friends and local movie buffs. But as the podcast garnered more attention, he added an array of international guests, including people who were involved in the making of the film.

For the final episode — minute 166 — Howard welcomes the director of 'Heat,' Mann himself.

Mann and 'Heat' fan Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) talks with Howard about why he took on the project, his passion for the movie, and how his roster of guests came together.

It’s a couple of cinephiles talking.

Once upon a time in America, reality TV used to be about the rich and the famous.

But THE HILLS changed the rules of the game in 2006 — merely being rich or appearing to be — was good enough to get you famous.

The MTV docu-soap spawned a thousand copycats — including the Housewives and the Kardashian franchises — and turned the US into a country obsessed with reality TV, the genre that launched a presidency.

Eager to get back in the limelight, some of the stars of THE HILLS are back on MTV with NEW BEGINNINGS. But will the public have sufficient interest in the older cast members contending with the everyday challenges of domestic life — marriage, children and divorce-- that people watch reality TV to get away from?

Times film writer and host Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) talks with @thefilmgoer and @AmyKinLA, author of “Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America's Favorite Guilty Pleasure.”

HBO is pushing the envelope with its new teen-centered drama, EUPHORIA. Sex influenced by pornography, wanton drug use, aimless youth: It’s a horror movie for parents.

But is it a fair representation of the 9/11 generation — the first set of kids to come of age with smartphones perpetually in tow?

Host Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) talks with Times TV reporter @villarrealy.

On a lighter note, Olsen also talks with @cashleelee and @thefilmgoer about the return of YOUNGER, the hit romantic dramedy back for its sixth season. With its deep fan base, the TV Land series seems to have cracked the code for keeping appointment television relevant in a streaming world.

"The Last Black Ma In San Francisco" is a film about a friendship, a family, a house, a city, and its community. San Francisco serves as a stand-in for cities across the country undergoing gentrification.

The film — which won two prizes at the Sundance Film Festival — captures the deep sense of loss that overcomes families who are pushed from their homes and stripped of their communal experience.

It’s another installment in the recent wave of films out of the Bay Area, made by people of color — about people of color.

Host Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) talks with colleagues @GerrickKennedy, @JustinCChang and @JenYamato.

Later on, Olsen talks about LATE NIGHT with critic @KennethTuran and film editor @geoffberkshire. What’s the future for this kind of smart, charming mid-level gem in a streaming world? Will they continue to fill up theaters?

The revolution is being televised after all.

On streaming platforms, a rebellion against powerful political, social and cultural forces is growing stronger than ever.

THE HANDMAID'S TALE is eerily channeling American women’s fears over the future of reproductive rights. The four-part series WHEN THEY SEE US, is powerfully capturing the racial bias and inequities in the criminal justice system.

Netflx, Hulu and other platforms are also challenging the old rules of the casting game and increasing the visibility of communities vastly underrepresented on screen.

And on cable, women across the socioeconomic divide are making trouble and challenging the patriarchy in both BIG LITTLE LIES and CLAWS.

On this week’s episode, THE REEL explores the shows that have sprung forth from the cracks where network executives have feared to tread.

Guest hosts Lorraine Ali (@LorraineAli,) the Times TV critic, and Jen Yamato (@JenYamato,) a film reporter for the Times, sit in for Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus.)

Later on, Olsen is back to dive deeper into BIG LITTLE LIES. The HBO hit was originally envisioned as a one-off, single season series, but fans demanded more from the Monterey Five.