🌈 Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend. Tell someone you care about them this week.
Today’s recommendation is for Molly’s Game (2017), streaming on Netflix. Legendary screenwriter Aaron Sorkin made the jump to the director’s chair with this film, which earned him his third Oscar nomination for adapting a real figure’s life.
Directed by Aaron Sorkin // ⏱ 141 mins // 🎭 Crime Biopic
Here’s what it’s about:
Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain) was on track to compete in the 2002 Winter Olympics when an accident abruptly ended her career. Instead of going to law school as intended, she begins to establish herself as an organizer in the world of underground high-stakes poker games filled with celebrity players. [Trailer]
Why you should watch it:
It’s hard to go wrong with a good story well-told — and Aaron Sorkin is a master storyteller. Like any of Sorkin's screenplays, the untraditional structure and highly stylized dialogue keep you engaged while the twisting narrative hooks you in from the start. Molly’s journey highlights a complicated woman, even when the movie industry seems more interested in men. It’s fitting considering Molly herself constantly broke down the doors of “men-only spaces” and created her own place.
While his direction is a bit heavy-handed, like any first-time director, it's made up for with electric performances from Chastain and Idris Elba, as Molly’s hesitant lawyer. They handle Sorkin’s famously complex dialogue with the ease and charisma of Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network. It’s criminal that neither of them was up for Oscars.
📺 Buy or Rent: Prime Video | iTunes | YouTube
One TV series you should watch⌨️ Devs
Here’s a bonus recommendation for those of you looking for a series to binge.
Devs is a new sci-fi drama, streaming on Hulu, created by Alex Garland, whose films Ex Machina and Annihilation I’ve previously recommended.
Created by Alex Garland // ⏱ 1 season, 8 episodes // 🎭 Sci-Fi
Here’s what it’s about:
Lily Chan (Garland regular Sonoya Mizuno) uncovers the mystery behind the secretive devs division at the quantum computing tech company she works for that she thinks is behind the disappearance of her boyfriend. Meanwhile, the company’s enigmatic founder Forest (Nick Offerman) pushes the boundaries of what we know to be possible. [Trailer]
Why you should watch it:
When I started Devs I thought it was perhaps too esoteric in its story, crude in its writing, and frustratingly contrived with its plot mechanics, but never count Alex Garland out. By the third episode when the picture gets a bit clearer it introduces a philosophical quandary that propels you into obsession with the show.
Like 2015’s cerebral Ex Machina or the masterfully crafted horror of Annihilation, Garland explores “science” and its relationship to the human condition in Devs. He mines the material for a hypnotic slow-burn that fits perfectly with FX’s Legion or even Fargo. That slow-burn could be tedious at times, but it is rewarding for those that stick with it. Impeccably designed with futuristic imagery slid into our own world, it’s yet another staple in his already impressive career.
Have a great week and take care of yourself.
See you Thursday!
Karl (@karl_delo)