Dear friends, I saw Scream 6 in the theaters the other day and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. Reader I have not seen the previous Scream films! I’m not a fan of the franchise nor of gore, but there was something about this installment’s self-awareness and unabashed love for the genre that endeared me to it. It’s a riot, and I wasn’t expecting this of all films to bring back my excitement for ~cinema~ but excited I am. As always, I hope you have a nice weekend! OUR TOP TV SHOW OF THE WEEKChimp EmpireOn Netflix 🍅 rating— Narrated by Mahershala Ali, Chimp Empire is a four-part series that takes a captivating closer look at the drama, dynamics, and surprising politics that goes on in the biggest chimpanzee community in the world. Set in the deep forest of Ngogo, Uganda, the docuseries gives us rare access to the tribes’ complex lives and ties to each other.
It shouldn’t be surprising how closely their society resembles ours (The Guardian calls the series “Succession but with apes”), but director James Reed gives this well-known fact a fresh spin by highlighting humanistic narratives and details. It’s enthralling through and through. OUR TOP MOVIE OF THE WEEKJohn Mulaney: Baby JNew on Netflix 🍅 rating: 85% I wouldn’t call myself a die-hard fan, but I follow the comedy circuit. I know that John Mulaney is the SNL-writer-turned-stand-up-star who everyone used to love—up until allegations of him cheating with his wife surfaced, after which, he quickly became the butt of the joke instead of the conveyer of it. People seemed to turn on him overnight.
Now, I’m not here to report that he’s innocent or changed for the better. But I did happen to catch his comedy special on Netflix, and I have to say, it’s hard not to be swayed by Mulaney. In Baby J (a live recording of his performance in the Symphony Hall in Boston), he talks about his stint at rehab and his struggles with addiction, as well as his take on reinvention and being a new father. He brutally embraces the mess and turns it into relatable material and hilariously insightful anecdotes. Mulaney is a compelling storyteller, a master at set-ups and pay-offs, and it’s a skill that’s present from start to end in this unskippable special. Top picks outside of Netflix and Amazon Prime
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That’s all for this week. This edition of the newsletter will be back on Friday, May 5. Till then, Renee You're currently a free subscriber to The Watch. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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