Watch This Tonight

For Halloween, I wanted to give you an evergreen pick that is on my short-list of awesome movies not everyone has seen, Leigh Whannell's Upgrade, starring Logan Marshall-Green. What makes this movie so great is that it's kind of Saw meets a Jackie Chan movie, with everything that comparison entails (brutal twists, comic, inventive action). And if anything, the lighter touch the film has in spots only lulls you into a false sense of security about the ending to come. This is a great movie to watch during the Halloween season, and if you haven't seen it yet, I'm jealous you get to see it for the first time. Let me know your thoughts on Upgrade at [email protected], @BenamorDan (Twitter), watch_this_tonight (Instagram). And please leave a 5-star rating on the show, if you're enjoying it.

We're all trapped by our families. This is the central idea that makes The Sopranos great. I had no understanding of this as a 17-year-old, when I first tried to watch this television series. I had a much better understanding of it as a 33-year-old doing nighttime feedings of my newborn second child, which is when I binged the show in a couple months. What age did you watch The Sopranos? How did it work for you depending on the age you were at when you watched it? And do you agree with my theory on the ending, which I am bizarrely confident is totally correct? Let me know at [email protected], or @BenamorDan (Twitter) or watch_this_tonight (Instagram). Drop a 5-star rating if you're enjoying the podcast, leave a review and subscribe for future episodes.

If you missed this in theaters like me, and you were debating watching it now, definitely do it. The Black Phone is an instant horror classic, from Ethan Hawke's villain's iconic mask, to Scott Derrickson's strong direction (particularly of child actors), to the sharp writing by Scott and C. Robert Cargill, to the underlying brilliance of Joe Hill's short story which finds a fresh way into a ghost story camouflaged within a serial killer story. There are rumors of a sequel, and I hope it happens. Let me know what you think at [email protected] or @BenamorDan (Twitter) or watch_this_tonight (Instagram).

Rockstar creative team (pilot written and directed by Tom McCarthy, of Spotlight) lead what is in some ways like a TV sequel to the Oscar-winning film Spotlight, starring Hilary Swank as a hard-charging reporter who is embroiled in scandal and ships off to a small newspaper in Alaska, where she uncovers an epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women. Is it perfect? No. It wobbles out of the gate a little, but by the end of the pilot, this television series shows the promise of its creative team, and feels like a potential successor to great network dramas of old, like The West Wing, ER, The Practice, and so on. Let me know what you thought of Alaska Daily at [email protected] or reach out on Twitter (@BenamorDan) or Instagram (watch_this_tonight). Please rate and review and subscribe for future episodes, if you're enjoying the show.

Found a fresh way into this, as I did with The Departed, I'm bringing you the top 5 lines that are in the Snatch script, which are NOT in the final film, as means to further illustrate what makes the movie so singular (Guy Ritchie's unique voice). I have probably watched Snatch 55 times. Is Snatch your favorite Guy Ritchie film? If not, what is? Let me know at [email protected], or @BenamorDan (Twitter) or watch_this_tonight (Instagram). Please leave a 5-star review of the show on Apple Podcasts if you're enjoying it, and subscribe for future episodes.

A Gerard Butler nightcap that'll have you shaking your drink from the tension, this movie really surprised me. It overachieves in every way. Reportedly made for a 35 million dollar budget, it looks like a 100 million dollar film. A seemingly familiar premise is enlivened by a smart narrative tweak and incredible, carefully calibrated, maximum suspense at every turn. I was sleeping on Greenland, and I shouldn't have been (director Ric Roman Waugh and writer Chris Sparling are two of my favorites, not to mention it has a great late-game cameo by another favorite of mine, Holt McCallany). Let me know what other Gerard Butler films I should do for this little series at [email protected], @BenamorDan (Twitter) or watch_this_tonight (Instagram). If you enjoy the show, do the show a solid and drop a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. And subscribe now for future episodes.

Some nights, you just want to watch Gerard Butler beat up a bunch of people to find his wife. Last Seen Alive, at time of recording, is the NUMBER ONE movie on Netflix. So apparently I'm not the only one who feels this way. Certainly, this is a programmer, but it's an elevated programmer film. It's got a great, what-would-you-do premise, a fast-paced and engaging plot, and a great cast of supporting actors (Jaimie Alexander, Russell Hornsby, Ethan Embry, Michael Irby) in addition to the reliably-great Gerard Butler. Let me know what you thought of this film at [email protected], @BenamorDan (Twitter), or watch_this_tonight (Instagram). If you're enjoying the show please leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts and subscribe now for future episodes.

Perhaps the best example of this subject, Judd Apatow's film This Is 40 is a completely different viewing experience if you watch it in your 20s (like I did when it first came out) or approaching 40 (like I am now). What to a younger viewer might seem frivolous or small in stakes or plotless, to an older viewer feels one thousand percent true to life. The movie is funny no matter what age you watch it, but even more so if you are closer to the ages of the lead characters. This is all not to mention an insanely stacked supporting cast, including Megan Fox, Chris O'Dowd, Melissa McCarthy, Jason Segel, Lena Dunham, Albert Brooks, Jon Lithgow and more, and how many of them catapulted to stardom after this film, or haven't done something like this since. What is the movie that plays way differently for YOU depending on what age you watch it? Let me know at [email protected], @BenamorDan (Twitter), or watch_this_tonight (Instagram). Please leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts if you're enjoying the show, and subscribe now for future episodes.

Don't be thrown by the title, this show is fresh, funny, and surprisingly TV-MA at times in its humor. Given the pedigree (from Steve Levitan, co-creator of Modern Family, starring Keegan Michael Key, Judi Greer, Rachel Bloom, Paul Reiser, and Johnny Knoxville), we should never have doubted it. If you've got an itch for a great half-hour comedy, Reboot on Hulu is exactly that. Let me know your thoughts on it, or on the podcast, at [email protected], @BenamorDan on Twitter, or watch_this_tonight on Instagram.

Come back to Watch This Tonight as your podcast for the best TV recommendations. If you're enjoying the show, please leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe now for future episodes. Thanks for listening.

We get all versions of Jon Bernthal here. Prison Jon Bernthal. Suave Jon Bernthal. Vulnerable Jon Bernthal. The great unexpected discovery of this Showtime series, American Gigolo, though, is the sparkling romantic chemistry between Jon Bernthal and Gretchen Mol, who are exploding off the screen in every moment they share. The show has some bold choices that may or may not work for all viewers, but there's certainly enough here to recommend a watch, particularly for Bernthal fans. Shoot me an email and let me know what you think at [email protected], or @BenamorDan on Twitter, or watch_this_tonight on Instagram. Please leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts if you're enjoying the show, and subscribe for future episodes.