There’s nothing substantially new in theaters for Mother’s Day weekend. I can’t tell if that’s a slight or just a way for Hollywood to go spend time with their moms. Maybe you and yours can just stay in and watch Poker Face. They’ll love pointing at a guest star and saying, “Isn’t that the green lady from Wicked?”
Featured Presentations
.
Poker Face season two
Natasha Lyonne continues to use her lie-detecting talents to solve crimes in the second season of this Columbo-esque series that’s absolutely packed with high-profile guest stars. There’s not enough room to list them all, so I’ll just spit out a few names: Cynthia Erivo, Awkwafina, John Cho, Melanie Lynskey, and Richard Kind (obviously). — Jen Chaney
.
Clown in a Cornfield
Some years, clowns are so out, and other times, they’re the hottest thing in horror. It’s a little early to see if this new slasher from Shudder can ride the Terrifier wave, but it’s certainly trying. Like its namesake suggests, Clown in a Cornfield involves a clown named Frendo terrorizing some kids in a small town.
The One-Sentence Review
Forever
“[Michael Cooper Jr. and Lovie Simone] are what give this Forever the juice, imbuing a TV portrayal of teen sexual exploration with wonder and disappointment and some frank mechanical uncertainty.”
(Streaming on Netflix; read VanArendonk’s full review here.)
.
Conan O’Brien Must Go
Conan O’Brien has been on a red-hot streak: He recently hosted the Oscars and won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Now he’s returning to Max for another season of his delightfully idiotic travel show. In Thursday’s premiere, he heads to New Zealand, where he’ll meet up with Kiwi filmmaker Taika Waititi. Silliness is bound to ensue. — Tolly Wright
.
Fight or Flight
This film seems to be aiming for John Wick action meets Snakes on a Plane absurdity, which is an inspired choice for an airplane thriller. Josh Hartnett stars as a disgraced American agent tasked with tracking down and keeping an asset safe on a long-haul flight. Oh, and there’s also a bunch of over-the-top assassins aboard aiming to kill that very person. Did I mention that Hartnett has bleached-blond hair? —T.W.
Reality Bites
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars season ten
Welcome back, Lydia Butthole Kollins, Ginger Minj, Denali, Mistress Isabelle Brooks, and so many more. This season has an even larger cast (18 queens total) as the All Stars are put into teams and competing tournament-style for who knows how long. And to top it off, we’re finally getting Chappell Roan as a guest judge!!
Last Chance
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch
“The innovation in Bandersnatch seems mostly technological, a kind that has more to do with the underlying streaming engine than it does with a new genre of storytelling. (According to Variety, Netflix’s app had to be reworked so it could pre-cache two potential choices, rather than one, to better ensure a smooth streaming process.) But the most impressive thing about Bandersnatch is how well it proves that technology and narrative are tied together.” —Kathryn VanArendonk
In 2018, our critic Kathryn VanArendonk wrote about the possibility of Bandersnatch being the “dawn of interactive television.” Seven years later, and Netflix hasn’t done much with that tech since. Now it’s yanking Bandersnatch and the streamer’s other choose-your-own-adventure special, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend, off the platform. Oh well.
Finally Streaming
The Ugly Stepsister
This really isn’t your Disney fairy tale. If anything, it takes more from the Brothers Grimm “Cinderella” story in which the stepsisters go to violent lengths to try and get the prince. Here, the eldest stepsister, Elvira (Lea Myren), undergoes some gruesome tactics to make herself beautiful to woo the prince (Isac Calmroth) away from her beautiful orphaned stepsister Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss).
Double Feature
Infernal Affairs
In the third episode of Poker Face’s new season, there are plenty of moles, rats, and snakes to go around — of the undercover variety. If the twists remind you of The Departed, then maybe it’s time to check out the original 2002 thriller Martin Scorsese based his Oscar-winning film on, Infernal Affairs. Hong Kong cinema titans Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Andy Lau star as a police cadet recruited to infiltrate a criminal organization and a gang member tasked with becoming a police mole, respectively. —T.W.
Want more? Read our recommendations from the weekend of May 2.