An MCU movie coming out with good reviews, I haven’t typed a sentence like that in years … [takes a drag of a cigarette]. I’ll admit it was exciting to see all the pieces of what make a Marvel movie fun — strong actors, great chemistry, solid jokes and action — actually work. But if you’re past ever seeing a Marvel movie again, I get it, there’s always the madness of Paul Feig’s A Simple Favor sequel, which is even more trashy, silly, and entertaining, or the finale of The Righteous Gemstones, which is also (brilliantly) trashy, silly, and entertaining.
Featured Presentations
.
Thunderbolts*
Would I say the MCU’s back? Yet to be determined, but if we are getting more of these, which we are, then it’s refreshing as hell to have one that feels fun again. Though fun is a funny word to use considering Thunderbolts is all about depressed anti-heroes looking for a sense of purpose. Bolstered by a great group of actors (Wyatt Russell, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, and Lewis Pullman to name a few), Florence Pugh leads the film as Yelena Belova, Black Widow’s sister, who decides to do one last job for Valentina (the director of the CIA, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) but realizes the mission was meant to kill her and other shadow operatives.
➽ You probably hate Marvel homework, but just in case you wanted a refresher …
.
Another Simple Favor
A Simple Favor had its moments, but Another Simple Favor really plunges into unhinged territory. It’s what makes these films an enjoyable at-home watch. Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively’s frenemies reconnect when Emily (Lively) invites Stephanie (Kendrick) to her destination wedding in Capri, Italy. Naturally, the wedding becomes a circus ground of big personalities, which includes Henry Golding and Allison Janney, and this isn’t A Simple Favor film without a little mystery and murder.
➽ The best part of these movies is really how incredible Blake Lively is in them. Now where does it land in her oeuvre?
.
The Surfer
Nicolas Cage rides waves of desperation and paranoia (two of his best modes!) as a father who returns to the Australian beach of his youth only to land on the wrong side of a bunch of local surfers. Leave it to Cage’s maniacal intensity to make a sunny, wide-open seaside locale feel claustrophobic. —Tolly Wright
.
The Four Seasons
Tina Fey, Lang Fisher, and Tracey Wigfield co-created this adaptation of the 1981 Alan Alda–Carol Burnett comedy about a group of middle-aged couples who gather on various vacations. The cast — Fey, Will Forte, Colman Domingo, Steve Carell, Kerri Kenney-Silver — is very strong. Just be prepared for them to argue. Like, a lot. —Jen Chaney
.
Yes, Chef!
Top Chef has mellowed over time, but the creators behind the show are trying to recapture some of its early energy with their new stories. Hosted by Martha Stewart and José Andrés, Yes, Chef! brings 12 “rebellious” chefs together for “challenges designed to push their pressure points.” —Roxana Hadadi
.
Carême
Sometimes Apple TV+ gets me a little too much. In recent years, it has served me a great French show about competitive oenophiles, a Paris-set cop thriller, and a show about a French fashion house gone wrong. And this week: A (French, bien sûr) series about Antonin Carême, the world’s first celebrity chef — and possible Napoleonic-era spy. —Ray Rahman
Comedy Corner
The 26th Mark Twain Prize for American Humor
Conan O’Brien was honored during this ceremony, held at the Kennedy Center during one of the weirdest moments in the arts institution’s history. The comedians who showed up — John Mulaney, Sarah Silverman, Kumail Nanjiani, and Nikki Glaser — were game to address the elephant in the room, but it will be interesting to see how many of their jabs at new chair Donald Trump make it into the streaming version. — J.C.
Grand Finale
The Righteous Gemstones season four
Before this Sunday’s The Righteous Gemstones series finale, I poked around our coverage to see what I’ve missed and came across Hershal Pandya’s piece on star Walton Goggins and …
… hell yeah.
100 Men Versus Him
Well, you’ve seen the meme. Now watch it play out in a movie? (Our favorite is Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, available to rent on Amazon and Apple.)
Finally Streaming
Black Bag
One of Vulture’s best movies of 2025, Steven Soderbergh’s sexy spy thriller is worth your time this weekend. Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett play a devoted married couple who both work for British intelligence, but when Fassbender’s operative, George, learns there’s a mole, he must investigate his wife.
➽ Plus, two big movie franchises of the 2000s just landed back at Netflix. Pair Black Bag with some of Steven Soderbergh’s best work, Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen. Or, lean into baseball season with the vampires of the Twilight saga. Either way, you score.
Want more? Read our recommendations from the weekend of April 25.