The first time I saw Spring Breakers, writer-director Harmony Korine’s seedy beach noir currently celebrating its tenth birthday, was as God intended: on my friend’s PlayStation 3, either before or after a night in various bleating, lurid bars. What we saw onscreen felt familiar enough but warped, like friends’ faces on the third night of a bachelor party. Is this what pleasure does to people? The movie makes its intentions clear with its opening montage—the only thing more depraved than the slow-motion images of half-naked beachgoers pouring beer on each other is the Skrillex drops soundtracking them.
Over three stressful weeks and countless children's games, Netflix successfully created one of the most popular reality competition series of the year: Squid Game: The Challenge. The competition show offered a chance for people to win an $4.56 million by playing the games from the dystopian South Korean drama of the same name. Looking back, Netflix kept the sets, games, and feel of Squid Game pretty faithful. You know, except for removing the murdering.
We're getting closer and closer to getting to experience Stranger Things's fourth season. That's the good news. The bad news is that the release of it is still a few months away—but the good news of that bad news is that you have plenty of time to rewatch and remember what happened all those years ago. (Seriously, the last season debuted nearly two years ago!) Pandemic-induced production woes have left Netflix's expectant audience in limbo, but there may finally be a light at the end of the tunnel.
To be clear, Netflix's new dramedy Sweet Magnolias is essentially the televised equivalent of the cinnamon bread you get from Dollywood—saccharine, painfully Southern, and absolutely not the best option for you to consume. But it also is incredibly satisfying as you gobble up every episode. Even if the writing is a bit questionable at times ("While you're busy hanging price tags, Bill Townsend, keep in mind you're not worth the skin God wrapped your bones in.
This story contains spoilers for the Season Three finale of Ted Lasso.
For a long time now, we all suspected where Ted Lasso would end its third—and potentially final—season: Ted Lasso realizes its better to be a good father than a good football coach. He packs it all up, leaves AFC Richmond, and heads back to Wichita, Kansas, to be with his son. Right where he began. It fully sank in for me following an otherwise odd moment in last week's episode.