Instant Picks of the Week 2/12/16
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.
BETTER CALL SAUL (Netflix)
BETTER CALL SAUL, on first blush, seems like a cash-grab. Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) was a well-liked character, funny with just the right amount of darkness, relevant to the plot as the main link between Walt (Bryan Cranston) and Gustavo Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), but there’s no reason that a new show should explore the backstory of a comedic side character. The failure of BETTER CALL SAUL is that it never completely escapes that problem. Luckily, showrunner Peter Gould’s story still entertains. While both shows feature amateur crime and quirky characters, the difference is that Gilligan’s BREAKING BAD was a ravenous monster that chewed through plot while Gould’s BETTER CALL SAUL is subdued; a slow-growing tumor of darkness. It’s not always an exciting watch, but it’s an interesting exploration of an established world and seeing Jimmy/Saul and scene-stealer Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) interact again is enough for any fan to hop onboard. Season Two premieres Monday, February 15th. [Ian Campbell]
DONALD TRUMP’S THE ART OF THE DEAL: THE MOVIE (Funny or Die)
DONALD TRUMP’S THE ART OF THE DEAL: THE MOVIE clocks in at about 50 minutes, which technically makes it a short film, and it’s available to stream instantly, so there’s that too. Johnny Depp and a healthy amount of prosthesis stars as Donald Trump, who relates the secrets to his successful bid for the Taj Mahal casino to a young Beaver-ish boy. Depp’s performance is hilarious, as well as the slew of other celebrities that appear, such as Patton Oswalt, Stephen Merchant, the voice of Kristin Schaal, and Jack McBrayer. Even Jacob Tremblay (ROOM) appears in this send-up that has no other recourse than to be political, because that’s the world we live in now. McBrayer and Oswalt, along with Depp, provide much of the rapid-fire humor in this tale of the The Trump Who Would Be King. DONALD TRUMP’S THE ART OF THE DEAL: THE MOVIE provides a solid 50 minutes of laughs for just about everyone except actual Trump supporters, who are more than likely not reading this website anyway. [Steven Porfiri]
