Happy New Year indeed! If you’re still on an extended holiday break, you’re in luck. In any case, the festive mood is still in the air. Here’s a list of Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon shows to watch this week (depending of course who you’re watching with):
1. This weekend I only have like 5 minutes… and a toddler.
We got you. Watch: “Timmy Time”
Available in Netflix and Amazon.
If you or your kid/s are fan of Shaun the Sheep, then you’ll definitely enjoy this show. “Timmy” is a spinoff of “Shaun the Sheep”. The enjoyable, dialogue-free show follows the mischievous and cute lamb and his nursery-school adventures: enjoying the color blue, feeling frightened by thunder, celebrating one’s fourth birthday, indulging in the fascination of mud puddles. “Timmy Time” first came out in 2009 in England and has since aired in various channels.
You and your kids will laugh at Timmy and his critter pals communicate in cute animal sounds and intonations, especially when you’re tired with the usual call-and-response children’s programming.
2. This weekend, I have a lot of chores and have about an hour (or half of it) to myself
Take the break. Watch: “The Way of the Househusband” Season 2
Available in Netflix.
If you need to find some humor in the daily struggles of chores, this series will take you on a laughing marathon. The series centers on a retired Yakuza spends his time as a househusband carrying out home chores- gangster style. Tatsu, also known as the “Immortal Dragon” used to be a feared Yakuza member in the underground world. He then resurfaces as everyone’s favorite househusband, equipped with an apron and skill sets varying from cooking, cleaning and more. While adapting to mundane household tasks, Tatsu finds that being a house husband has its own challenges, from a donut battle showdown to ridding the house of mildews and molds- you’ll enjoy the anime-adapted show. It shows that no matter what transformations you deal with in life, you’ll learn to adapt!
Netflix first released the show in 2021 in two batches: April and October. It was received well by critics and the streaming platform has now released its second season. Don’t worry though, each episode doesn’t really require that you’ve watched the previous one- a perfect series for you.
3. This weekend, I will sit on the couch and never leave
Time to your self, we see. Watch: ‘Kaleidoscope’
Available in Netflix on Sunday.
Giancarlo Esposito -all slick and elaborate and bursting with ragtaginess, stars as the ringleader in this eight-part heist drama that indeed hits the heist-y notes you would expect. Much like some of Esposito’s series, episodes are not sequential. Instead, you’ll be shown installments named by color instead of number, and Netflix will serve them up in different orders to different viewers. But “White” is the finale episode no matter what. It will be an interesting watching experience for you as you bounce through each episode. As the New York Times review says: “Kaleidoscope” is plenty of fun in a “Money Heist” way.
4. This weekend, I have time for 1 movie with the kids
Get your popcorns ready. Watch: Strangeworld
Available on Disney+
Progressive as it is, Strangeworld depicts a multicultural world that does not center around a specific region or ethnicity. Unlike recent animated Disney films like “Raya and the Last Dragon” and “Moana”, the film portrays a different world and ventures on the protagonists’ heroic abilities. If you’ve read “Journey to the Center of the Earth”, you’ll like its homage to a modern fantasia. More so, the film deals with intergenerational issues of families, as well as Mother Nature.
5. I just want to watch an exciting but gentle film
Murder mystery anyone? Watch: Glass Onion
Our movie review from Ron: Craig’s Detective Blanc is as fascinating as the much-celebrated character Sherlock Holmes. There was no dull moment when the southern detective appeared. The story works because Daniel Craig is the perfect casting for it.
It’s an all-star cast with Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, Kathryn Hahn, Madelyn Cline, and the terrific Janelle Monae. Ethan Hawke even had a cameo appearance, however insignificant.
6. This weekend, I want something I cannot explain yet
Strange, incoherent. Watch: White Noise
Available on Netflix
There’s something off about the film “White Noise”- a multitude of moods and notions that are all interesting, but never really cohere. Director Noah Baumbach dramatizes the contemporary American family’s attempts to deal with family dynamics and mundane conflicts of everyday life. The movie is based on Don DeLillo’s White Noise, a novel that critics say falls somewhere between post-Pynchonian speculative fiction and suburban satire. #
