Instant Picks of the Week 1/22/16
Gone are the days of scrolling mindlessly through your queue! No longer will you have to sift through the vastness of what’s coming to the instant viewing wastelands this month! Whether you’re looking for a stellar film or an exciting new show to binge, Instant Picks of the Week brings you the hottest releases in film and television on instant viewing platforms that we know you’ll love, or at the very least not despise.
PEEP SHOW (Netflix)
Having sat at the top of my Netflix queue since the early days of 2010 when I first logged on, I decided to give PEEP SHOW a go on a whim and couldn’t have been more pleasantly surprised. Although the general principle of two professional and personal losers certainly doesn’t win any points for ingenuity, the scenario writing is simply some of the funniest to have ever graced my eyes. Putting Mark (David Mitchell) and Jez (Robert Webb) in scenarios that consistently maximize their respective character flaws and quirks, the viewer will be cringing just as much as they will be uproariously laughing. Although Mark rises slightly above Jez due to his consistent narrative technique comparing various life events to the Battle of Stalingrad (a personal interest of his), the dialogue is rarely less than razor sharp and it’s a refreshing break to not have moments of contrived drama interjected a la many current comedies on air today. [Thomas Seraydarian]
TWIN PEAKS (Netflix)
Although it took three false starts and a fifth of gin for me to finally commit to consuming the fabled TWIN PEAKS, it remained decidedly true that it’s never too late catch up. There isn’t much to be said about Mark Frost and David Lynch’s 90s soap opus that somebody else hasn’t. Its contortion of the melodramatic murder mystery (and every last construct of such a story) is indisputably masterful, its characters eternally memorable; Kyle MacLachlan’s turn as Special Agent Dale Cooper is a genuine delight. Fans of David Lynch need no convincing that TWIN PEAKS is sure to be worth their time, while Lynch’s detractors may also find that the series appeals to them in a manner that his films do not. Despite the series’ lull midway through its second and final season (which nonetheless manages to be more interesting than the majority of television), TWIN PEAKS should be given the attention it deserves. In preparation of the release of its belated third season, binge it. [Strack Azar]
