Best Film and TV (January 17-20)

If you, like us, have been waiting for years Resignation after that cliffhanger, I can’t imagine you running to anything else first. But it’s just the premiere episode of season two that’s airing this weekend, so with the extra time you need to go to the cinema. There is Resignation superfan SZA’s first acting gig alongside Keke Palmer in a gut-busting buddy comedy produced by Issa Rae – an incredible trio, indeed. There’s also the Robbie Williams chimpanzee biography that’s caused a stir online, some interesting docs and the return of critics’ favorites Sing Sing and The fabric in theatres. See! Good stuff.

The excruciating, nearly three-year wait is over: Apple TV+’s critically beloved series is back, and it’s better than any kinky waffle party. The first season left us with plenty of mysteries: What is Lumon really up to? What did they do with Mrs. Casey/Gemma? Why are there goats?! We probably won’t have all the answers, but the cut-throat employees of macro data refinement will surely be as eager to discover the truth as we are. —Tolly Wright

➼ For Outies who forgot what happened in Season 1.

RaMell Ross’s adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s novel about two friends engaged in a nightmarish reform school is a real stunner, as Ross makes the brilliant choice to shoot the film from the first person, making its tragic story immersive and enabling a knockout of a final act. – Alison Willmore

Forget Evil or Emilia Perez — the craziest musical of recent years is this gonzo biopic of Britpop sensation Robbie Williams, which has great numbers and also features Williams as, no joke, a CGI chimpanzee. —Bilge Ebiri

➼ If you need it, here’s a beat-by-beat on everything the chimp does in this biopic from getting a hand job to kicking heroin.

A Keke Palmer-SZA buddy comedy produced by Issa Rae is a guaranteed good time. Meanwhile, Palmer and SZA’s characters, Dreux and Alyssa, respectively, are having a hard time One of these days when Alyssa’s boyfriend blows up their rent, causing the duo to spend the day looking for a way to get them back before they get evicted. It’s an entertaining comedy with a hilarious supporting cast of Janelle James, Katt Williams, Lil Rel Howery and Maude Apatow.

In Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language film, the Oscar-winning Spanish director brings Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore together for a story of friendship and mortality. Martha (Swinton) is dying of cancer, and she gets help from Ingrid (Moore) for a trip to the Catskills, where Martha can end her life on her own terms. The film is full of beautiful, bold colors, but the relationship between Martha and Ingrid is the real focus of Almodóvar’s vision. —TW

Following the success of Leigh Whannell’s modern version of The Invisible Man, the filmmaker tackles another classic horror character in Wolf man. Partnering again with Blumhouse, Whannell’s film stars Christopher Abbott as Blake, a man whose estranged father’s mysterious disappearance prompts him to move his family (Julia Garner and Matilda Firth) back into his father’s house, only to be bitten by a werewolf

Explores the popular practice and murky ethics of family vlogging, An update on our family is inspired by Caitlin Moscatellos the cut piece about the Stauffer family, who adopted a young boy from China and later gave him up for re-adoption.

A spinoff of To all the boys I’ve loved beforethis TV series focuses on Lara Jean Covey’s sister Kitty (Anna Cathcart) as she attends a boarding school in Seoul. Now it’s the matchmaking younger sister’s time to find love.

It’s a huge milestone year for Saturday Night Liveso naturally there are more projects to support this fact. This isn’t even the only documentary about it that Peacock has released this year. If you are a fan of SNL, In addition to Saturday night features four episodes of never-before-seen footage and interviews with so many people.

The game show, where contestants test their ability to gauge whether famous people are telling lies, is back and in prime time. Drew Barrymore will be the permanent center, but you know she’s going to push her way into the others. -Jen Chaney

The final season of DC’s best animated series ended with its face-painted heroine declaring “I’m better than a hero. I’m Harley Fuckin’ Quinn!” This season follows her beloved Poison Ivy as she throws seedy Gotham into Metropolis. The action-comedy may have a change in scenery, but promises to be as explosive and gangly as ever. — Eric Vilas-Boas

Whatever you do, don’t call it Robotics. For the first time in many years, Super Dimension Fortress Macross, the original Japanese transformation robot series created by Shōji Kawamori and the show that was adapted into the American-Japanese 80s classic is available to stream in the US on Hulu. Included in the release are most of the shows and movies in the larger one Macross franchise, like the 90s classic Macross Plus – which served as an early talent showcase for director Shinichirō Watanabe and composer Yoko Kanno, who would collaborate on Cowboy Bebop just a few years later. As for mecha anime, the various Macross posts are among the high-flyers. — EVB

Get those tissues ready. Based on the real Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) program, Sing Sing follows a theater troupe made up of imprisoned men. The main focus is Divine G (Colman Domingo), a talented performer and playwright who has been falsely imprisoned, but the film’s power comes from its ensemble of actual RTA alumni who are naturals on camera. —TW

➼ If you didn’t get a chance to see The substance in theaters, now’s your time to live (or alleviate) that bonkers experience.

—Matt Zoller Seitz on Lynch’s surrealist work in Mulholland Drivewhich you can rent on Amazon and Apple TV.

For other Lynch standards, of which there are many, here are just a few more streaming highlights:

➼ Blue velvetstreaming on Max
➼ Eraser headstreaming on Max
➼ Twin Peaks and Twin Peaks: The Returnstreaming on Paramount+

Awards season underdog, Aaron Schimberg’s drama has earned a Gotham for Best Picture and earned Sebastian Stan a Golden Globe for his lead role as a man who undergoes miracle surgery for his facial disfigurement but is still miserable, and even more so when he crosses paths with the charismatic Oswald (a terrific performance from Adam Pearson).

➼ Plus, Luca Guadagnino’s second drama from 2024, Queerhit digital platforms this week.

Famed Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker, known as Mr. Baseball, also died this week. He became famous nationally for his The Tonight Show performances and for his role as a radio commentator in the 1989 comedy Major Leaguestreaming on Prime video.

Do you want more? Read our recommendations from week of January 10.