Watch List Weekly Recap 3/4/22

Topics this week: Classic British romance, superhero dystopia, two of last year's best, and maybe one of this year's, too.

Watch List Weekly Recap 3/4/22

This is the Friday recap of Ty Burr’s Watch List postings for the week. If you’d like to receive this weekly email ONLY, please go to your account page and under “Email notifications” uncheck every box except “Weekly Digest.” If you’d prefer to not receive it at all, uncheck just “Weekly Digest.”


Note: I’ll be going offline for a bit, visiting family, taking a breather, and doing research for a broader post about the VOD landscape. Be well and see you in a week.


A new Watchcast went up on Monday, with Meredith Goldstein and I centering our discussion of great movie romances on a genuine classic: Michael Powell’s 1945 “I Know Where I’m Going!” It was one of my mother’s favorite films, it’s one of mine, and, who knows, it might be one of yours.

The Watchcast: You Should Know "I Know Where I'm Going!"
Listen now (34 min) | I’m always a little surprised when someone says they haven’t heard of “I Know Where I’m Going!,” the 1945 Michael Powell-Emeric Pressburger romance set in the rugged, mystical Scottish Hebrides. It was my mother’s all-time favorite movie, so, for me, it’s always been around — she would have been…

There’s a new “Batman” movie in town — again — but a dark star and a gifted director make it one of the more interesting ones.

"The Batman": Graphic, Novel
The Nut Graf: Tired of Batman movies? Me, too. But “The Batman” (in theaters March 4, *** stars out of ****) for once gambles the franchise on a genuinely dark vision.

Have you been waiting for “West Side Story” to come to streaming? Have you wondered what the deal is with “Drive My Car”? Here’s your chance to find out, as well as my chance to go long on the Hamaguchi movie.

"West Side Story"and "Drive My Car" (Finally) Come to VOD
The Nut Graf: Is Spielberg’s “West Side Story” (on HBO Max and Disney+, **** out of ****) as good as the original? Is “Drive My Car” (on HBO Max, **** out of ****) as good as they say? 🎶 Could be. Who knows? 🎶 (Yes.)

I know, I wrote a lot this week — so sue me, I’m going on vacation. The New Release Friday round-up included one of my favorites of Sundance and maybe 2022, “After Yang” (above, in theaters and on Showtime), plus a fine documentary about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz (on Amazon Prime), and a forgotten hippie philanthropist in “Dear Mr. Brody” (one Amazon Prime and Apple TV).

New Release Friday: "After Yang," "Lucy and Desi," "Dear Mr. Brody"
Note: I’ll be going offline for a bit, visiting family, taking a breather, and doing research for a broader post about the VOD landscape. Be well and see you in a week.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to pass Ty Burr’s Watch List along to your friends.

If you’re not a paying subscriber and want to sign up for additional postings and to join the discussions, here’s how: